Trials And Tribulations
by EllieCullen0413
Summary: How did Alice convince her self to leave her family? How did she know what to look for when she couldn't even see it? How did she cope with the constant visions of her family and friends been torn apart and destroyed? Alice's version of Breaking Dawn.
1. The Forthcoming Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: I've always wanted to know what Alice went through when she left in Breaking Dawn. How did she bring herself to abandon her family? How did she know what she was looking for when she couldn't see it? How did she cope with the constant visions of her family and friends been torn apart and destroyed? It couldn't have been easy, and I don't think it was. I don't think she was ever given enough credit for saving the day at the last moment. So this is a story of Alice's 'Trials and Tribulations'.)**_

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_**The Forthcoming Darkness**_

There was some area of my mind that was aware of the glass vase in my hands that was suddenly very loose in my grip. There was some area of my mind that heard the air woosh as the vase passed through it. There was some area of my mind that was aware of the splintering sound of glass as it smashed into the floor beneath my feet. But it was miniscule and completely irrelevant compared to the image that was swarming the rest of my head.

Shadows looming, coming forwards, towards us.

Red eyes and pale faces looking out from deep, dark hoods.

Some faces I didn't know. Faces who shouldn't be there.

Some faces I did recognise. Faces I never wanted to see again.

My family gone.

Perished.

Dust.

Nothing.

_My_ family!

I spun around hoping to see them, but I couldn't. I couldn't see anything but from the hideous image clouding every area of my thoughts. Like ink that was pouring from its container, the dark force seeped forwards. Unstopping. Absorbing. Destroying.

_"What?" _Someone asked.

I tried to bring myself back into the room. Back in to the present. But my eyes couldn't refocus.

_"What Alice?" _The smooth but fierce voice said again.

I could feel two pads of pressure on my arms. The touch was foreign and familiar at the same time. But I just couldn't concentrate on who the touch belonged to.

A cold shiver went down my back as my vision zoomed in to the pinnacle of the battle.

Bella trying to fight off a handful of guards, but her newborn instincts couldn't match their centuries of training. Jane took the final fatal blow, ripping her head from her body.

Esme, Carlisle, Rose, all being floored by the now victorious Jane.

Ripping.

Tearing.

Burning.

Edward screaming. Roaring. Trying to protect his Bella. Too many guards. Too good. Bella's gone. He's gone.

Emmett and Jasper doing their best. Doing so well. Rose dying. Emmett distracted. Emmett gone.

Jasper fighting. Too many. Too many.

_Jasper._

_My Jasper._

_"What is it?" _But he wasn't gone. Not yet. He was here. With me. Of course only Jasper would be able to bring me back.

"They're coming for us." I managed to whisper. Edward's voice was speaking with mine. "All of them."

"The Volturi." The word made the venom pool in my mouth, but it tasted sour and bitter as I imagined vomit to taste of.

"All of them." Edward repeated.

I shook my head. My family needed me now. We were clueless, confused, alone. Only I would be able to find some answers. I needed to focus now.

"Why?" I asked to no one but myself. "How?" Nothing made sense.

"When?" Edward questioned.

I looked at the scene the vision was set in.

Snow was all I could see.

"Why?" Esme begged, changing the course of my thinking. I wanted to answer that question more than anything.

_"When?" _Jasper growled in my ear.

The words echoed in every fibre of my being and I was suddenly back at the clearing. Inspecting every detail of the snow around me. It was the only clue. Powdery. Soft. The first falling of snow. A few inches thick. Two, three days after the first day of snow this winter.

It wouldn't be a matter or days, nor would it be a matter of months.

One month. Five _weeks._

Too soon.

My mouth hung open in horror.

"Not long." I said. Edward joining me again. "There's snow on the forest. Snow on the town. Little more than a month."

And suddenly our living room was buzzing with questions, emotions… and fear.

"Why?" Carlisle asked.

Esme was going to speak next. _"They must have a reason. Maybe to see if Bella has been changed." _She was going to say.

"This isn't about Bella!" I breathed before she had even spoken Bella's name. "They are all coming – Aro, Caius, Marcus, every member of the guards. Even the wives!"

Jasper's voice rang coldly around the room. He, Edward and Carlisle were arguing, discussing, trying to think of any reasons why.

_Why Alice? Why? _I begged. Looking for reasons. I had been watching Aro's decisions so closely, that was what confused me the most. He hadn't actually made a decision yet. Not consciously. But someone had. Someone had made a decision that would lead to this! _But who?_

"Go back Alice. Look for the trigger. Search." Jasper instructed.

I tried. I tried so hard. But I couldn't find anyone. It didn't come from Aro. It didn't come from Caius or Marcus or even Jane. There was no reason.

My shoulders slumped in failure. "It came out of nowhere Jazz. I wasn't looking for them. I wasn't even looking for us. I was just looking for Irina."

I had finally found her wondering around an unknown landscape. Not somewhere that I recognised easily. Definitely not in America. Europe possibly? I had no idea what she was doing there.

"She wasn't where I expected her to be…" I could hear my voice drift off into nothing as my mind finally caught up. I watched as she carried on walking through the dark night – the same image as I had before, though now it was her immediate future. But the vision started to shift, rotating around her. It was now looking over her shoulder, facing the way she was walking. I finally saw her destination, where she was headed. She was walking up the same road Bella and I had driven up almost nine months ago. The small town on the top of the hill was all too familiar.

She decided to go to Volterra.

"She decided to go to them." I finally managed to spit out. "Irina decided to go to the Volturi. And then they will decide… It's as if they were waiting for her. Like their decision was already made, and just waiting on her…"

Waiting on someone, anyone… anything. Anything to give them reason! That's why a hard, clear decision to come here wasn't made. Because they had no reason to do so. But they will… soon. But why? The question was still not answered. Why would Irina do that? To her family. She had no reason to. Because she saw Bella with a werewolf? Did she really hate them that much? Really hate us that much?

"Can we stop her?" Jasper asked me.

"There's no way. She's almost there." I replied timidly.

"What is she doing?" Carlisle asked, echoing my thoughts.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Emmett bellowed. "She's got some beef with the werewolves and she's dobbed us in it! An illegal alliance or something?" Maybe –"

"Think of what she saw this afternoon." Bella's soft voice interrupted, obviously coming to a different conclusion. "To someone who'd lost a mother because of the immortal children, what would Renesmee look like?"

Oh Bella. She was so right. And Irina was so wrong.

"An immortal child." Carlisle spoke on all our behalf's.

Her words made me relieved that we finally knew why things were happening, but at the same time even more grief stricken with the fact that those monsters were out to kill Nessie. My beautiful, intelligent, one of a kind niece.

"But she's wrong. Renesmee isn't like those other children…" Bella continued.

No she isn't, but that wouldn't make any difference. Not in any version of events did the Volturi stop to hear our case, stop to hear her beating heart or to witness her growth.

"But they're wrong!" Bella cried.

"They won't wait for us to show them that." Edward replied, regrettably, picking at the vision from my head.

"What can we do then?" She asked, though her words were lost in her own pessimism.

Nothing.

We can do nothing, but wait.

"We fight." Emmett said as though he was talking about a casual Sunday evening with Jasper.

"We can't win." Jasper replied, now holding my hand. He could feel my doubt rolling through every inch of my body and knew there was no hope for us.

"Well we can't run. Not with Demetri around." He rolled his eyes, appalled by the idea of turning his back on someone who wanted to hurt us. If only we all felt as invincible as my bulky brother. "And I don't know that we can't win, there are a few options to discover. We don't even have to fight alone!" He added.

And with his words the vision changed. We were there still, awaiting the onslaught, but now we weren't alone. The vision moved back, allowing me to see more. My family stood in the middle, now with Tanya's coven behind them. More faces appeared, more friends. But more shredding, more burning and more loss.

"… Aro knows about our alliance with the pack now too. But I was thinking of our other friends." Emmett was still pleading his case.

"Other friends we don't have to sentence to death." Carlisle whispered downheartedly but honestly.

"Hey," Emmett shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant fashion. "We'll let them decide. I'm not saying they _have_ to fight with us."

With every word he said this new vision became clearer and clearer.

"If they'd just stand beside us, just long enough to make the Volturi hesitate. Bella's right, after all. If we could force them to stop and listen. Though that might take away any reason for a fight…" He smiled, and it almost made me want to smile.

A glimpse. I got a glimpse of halted troops. Just one. But that ounce of hope spoke volumes to me. Though it got washed away quickly. We would still die. Just more of us would die now.

Esme, Rose and Emmett were discussing his idea when the vision finally cemented itself. It would happen.

But we were all overlooking something…

Irina was not the only one who would believe that Renesmee is an immortal child.

"We'll have to ask them just right."

A different vision entered my mind. It was very welcome after the last few minutes. Tanya, Kate and Eleazar all screaming. Trying to get away. Don't want to get involved. Carmen: interested, hopeful… trustful.

" They'll have to be shown very carefully." I explained.

_Ok Edward? _I asked him, showing him how to do it. _You have to do it exactly like this. It won't be easy, but it will work. How could they turn their back on that beautiful girl? _I added looking at her.

As I looked up I caught his eye and he nodded carefully, showing me he understood. _It's our best shot Edward… It's our only shot. _I kept repeating the miniscule image of the Volturi stopping in front of us. It didn't even last half a second, but it was there, in some form of future. But his downturned face only highlighted the fact that the other images looked so more certain.

"Shown?" Jasper asked, confused.

We had little time and Edward was the only one who needed to know. The important thing now was finding witnesses _to show. _

Who would help us? I tried feebly to pull the faces of the people who would help us – and who would burn along side us – into my mind.

"Tanya's family." They were all there, Irina included, though she was not burning on our side, I didn't have enough time to delve into the meaning so carried on searching. "Siobhan's coven". I recognised the red tight curls of Maggie's hair dismembered from the rest of her body. "Amun's". Though Amun and his mate were not present in this disgusting image, his Benjamin was crying over his mate Tia in the pile of smouldering ashes. "Some of the Nomads," I watched a snap shot of Garrett bellowing to the halted troop of Volturi Guards. _"I came to witness, I stay to fight… they seek the death of our free will." _Halted troops! _Halted_ troops! They did stop… they _will_ stop! "Garrett and Mary for certain. Maybe Alistair." His face was much more distant to the others.

"What about Peter and Charlotte?"

I looked deeper, searching the faces. I finally spotted theirs, through the smoke. They were not burning…they were watching, from a distance, with saddened faces… worried faces. "Maybe." I said.

"The amazons? Kachiri, Zafrina and Senna?"

I had only met Carlisle's tall – and frankly, scary – immortal friends once and so I tried harder to locate their faces. But the scene shifted suddenly, taking me somewhere completely different, into a blur of vivid green… it was the rainforest and I was running, with Jasper by my side and one of the amazons in front of me, guiding me. Guiding me where? I took a sharp intake of breath when suddenly the bright, emerald scene was lost in a sea of darkness. But for some reason I welcomed it, as though I was hoping for it…

"I can't see." I breathed. The darkness completely cleared my sight, and for the first time in the last few minutes I saw the room in front of me.

"What was that? That part in the jungle? Are we going to look for them?" Edward asked before I had time to think about what the vision even meant.

I wanted to look again. Something was telling me that all the answers were in that vision – if only I looked harder. But there was a part of me that was _screaming _at me not to. It wasn't a conscious thought, it was completely instinctual. Was that vision not safe? Not safe from Edward…

Another vision: Edward's hand touching Aro's in the middle of the snow covered clearing.

…or not safe from Aro?

"I can't see." I repeated again, harsher – hoping he would pick up on my tone. I needed to get away from him quickly. I stepped to the left, trying to avoid eye contact. "We'll have to split up and hurry – before the snow sticks to the ground." I spoke so quick even I could hardly understand what I was saying. "We have to round up whomever we can and get them here to show them."

One thing still bugged me. Even if they would stop to listen to us, listen to our evidence that no-one could deny, the vision _still _ended the same way. Did that mean that even if we proved that Renesmee wasn't an illegal aspect of our species then they would still attack? But… but _why?_

_Another _vision: Eleazar's knowledgeable eyes with answers within them… _"I could only think that the reason Aro had decided to come himself, to bring so many with him, is because his goal is not punishment, but acquisition…"_

And then a picture entered my head, but it was something I had seen before – the same vision I had had nine moths ago in Volterra. It was me – standing beside Aro in the blackest of coats, the same shade as his.

I didn't understand. The only way the two visions would be linked would be if Aro was coming here _for me._ But that was ridiculous! He had heard my thoughts for himself. He knows that I would never leave my family. So he would take them away from me?

Guilt flooded over me, almost knocking me to my knees. All of this was my fault. My family, my friends, Renesmee, would all die because of me!

It had only been a second and a half since I had last spoken, my mind was so busy that I doubt anyone could have kept up. Edward's tense, screwed up face confirmed my thoughts.

"Ask Eleazar. There is more to this than just an immortal child." I spurted out.

And I was once again abruptly taken back to the rainforest. Running, searching, returning. But something was slowing us down! When I turned to face the unidentified object, everything disappeared, as it had before. _"But we can't stop! We don't have enough time!" _I cried to Jasper.

Not enough time. Whatever it was we all needed to do, would take all our effort and all our time. Too much to do. Not enough time.

"There's so much. We have to hurry." I spoke quickly.

"Alice that was too fast – I didn't understand. What was –" Edward begged. He hated not knowing everything. Didn't he understand that he couldn't know this? For all our sakes! I had to get out of his proximity in order to process this influx of information.

"I can't see!" I almost spat. But then a deep, dark calm washed over me. Not jasper – he was too wrapped up in his own turmoil to produce an atmosphere strong enough to calm any of us down. It was a werewolf for sure. He cleared my mind so much that it was almost peaceful. "Jacob's almost here." I continued.

"I'll deal with –" Rose said, probably hoping to take out some of her anger on the un-expecting dog.

"No, let him come." The tension was starting to build inside of me again. I would not be able to sit beside Jacob and just relax for a few moments – we just didn't have the time. I had to think, I had to understand what this vision meant. _And why couldn't I see the answer?_

I grabbed Jasper's hand. I didn't want to be alone, and if this rainforest vision was anything to go by he would have to be with me anyway.

"I'll see better away from Nessie too." I said honestly, though it also gave my absence an excuse. "I need to go. I need to really concentrate. I need to see everything I can. I have to go." I kept on speaking so I wouldn't think. "Come on jasper! There's no time to waste."

I looked into my immediate future, but I couldn't see myself returning here… not for a long time. It appeared as though Jasper and I were leaving tonight.

"Hurry! You have to find them all!" I called over my shoulder, hoping they would hear the urgency in my tone. We all had our parts to play and every element needed to come together.

Rose and Em would search America for nomads and Esme and Carlisle would travel to Europe. Bella and Edward would stay with Ness and wait for our friends to arrive. That left me and Jasper to find this mystery ingredient in our redemption.

I ran in silence focussing on Eleazar's face, trying my hardest not to think about the rainforest. Jasper ran in silence as well, until he knew we were well out of Edward's range.

"Alice what's going on? What was with the hasty exit?" He begged, following my every step though he didn't know where we were going.

I hoped that saying it allowed would clear the thick haze that was clouding my mind. "I had a vision… I had a lot of visions…"

"Of the Volturi coming here?" He assumed.

"Yes of course. But as soon as Carlisle mentioned The Amazon Coven my mind shot somewhere else. I saw us both there, trying to find something… trying to find someone?" I asked myself. "Whatever it is, it will be the solution to this problem. I can feel it. It could save us."

I was bombarded with another onslaught of images. Running. Five sets of footsteps running. Not in the Amazon… but here, in Forks! Running through the forest, with whatever is was that we found in the Amazon. Running to get somewhere, faster than ever before, harder than ever before. Running to the battle. The battle that had already started.

It hit me then – we were not going to return before the fight. We would not be able to. Because whatever it was that we were looking for would have to remain secret, from our family, from Edward, from Aro.

But the vision hadn't stopped. We were still running, until we saw smoke emanating from the horizon. Too late. We were still too late.

"What if it doesn't work?" I whispered to myself.

I skidded to a halt.

Jasper was on guard again. "What is it Alice? What has changed?" He was confused. I wasn't answering any of his questions, I was just giving him new ones.

"Nothing… yet. I need to do something in case this doesn't work."

"In case what doesn't work Alice? You're not telling me anything! What are we going to find?" He cried though it seemed like a distant whisper in my ears.

Every time I looked at the vision it ended in the same way, but I couldn't help fight the feeling of hope that the rainforest vision gave me. I had something that would save our family and our friends, but it was useless because we were always too late.

But there was a missing piece, something big was going to make a difference just before we returned… but I couldn't for the life of me work out what it was. I tried to look past it, look past whatever it was that had not yet even begun to happen. I tried to convince my mind to just accept it so I could see the result of it. All I got was one flash of an image. Bella. Bella's fierce face. She was the key. She always has been.

I shook my head vigorously as though I was trying to shake away all the questions. I hoped it would work, this impossible mission to the Amazon, looking for something that I couldn't see, looking for any hope at all, looking for something that I only _think _will save us all. I hoped it would work, but a part of me couldn't deny that it wouldn't. Either way, all bases needed to be covered. If it didn't work then Nessie would have to be safe. Out of all of us, she would have to be safe. But how? She would need to run, she would need to escape… cars, planes…_ Passports_.

"Passports!" I sang delightedly. A completely different image filled my head. Not a vision, but a memory.

Myself and Rosalie had been taking hundreds of photographs of Nessie, trying to put together some form of photo album in case anybody ever asked to see one. There was one picture I took of her and Jacob that I knew instantly Bella would need. I didn't know what for, but I knew it was important. Only three days ago I gave it to her and I told her to keep it safe in her purse, which she did.

"Jenks." Jasper offered. "But we've got plenty of documents at home, plenty of passports. We don't need anymore."

"They won't be for us. Bella needs to get them… for Ness." I whispered.

"Alice…" He sighed, comprehending what I was suggesting. "Even if Ness managed to get away from what is coming, she won't be able to run for long."

"That's why only Bella can know. At least that will give her a head start." I replied.

"Which means _Edward _can't know about it. We'll have to tell her about Jenks subtly." Jasper exhaled and paused, looking at me deeply and lovingly. "So don't give Bella his office address… You don't have to be able to see the future to see her stumbling in there and asking for illegal documents from the top of her newborn lungs!"

I laughed gently, feeding from the hope Jasper was sending me. "Bella doesn't stumble anymore…but you're right."

"111, 27th Street, North Hill, Seattle. Technically the address doesn't exist. Maybe Bella will understand the message enough to be discrete about it."

"It will work." I promised seeing an image of my beautiful sister sitting across a table from a bald, slightly chubby human male who I assumed was . At least that was one thing down.

"How are you going to get a message to Bella without Edward seeing it?" He asked suddenly, making me realise that nothing was solved at all yet. "Edward will not leave her side from now on, I'm sure."

Very true. But Bella was smart. She's been a part of our world for long enough to understand the importance of secrets. And more importantly she's known me for long enough to know when I need her to do something.

"Jazz, stay here for a sec." I said quickly.

He groaned loudly. "Alice… I don't think I can do that."

I looked at him confidently in the eyes.

"Be quick." He moaned. "If you're not back in exactly one minute, I'll come and get you myself!"

I ran quickly, my feet not really hitting the ground. Bella and Edward's cottage was not far from here.

In the morning they would all come looking for us. They would follow our scent and Bella would understand that she would need to follow my scent and come here by herself, as I did.

I opened the door quickly and headed straight for one of Bella's books. _The Merchant of Venice… very convenient,_ I thought.

DESTOY THIS, I wrote first of all. Underneath it I wrote the address Jasper gave me.

I turned the page and ripped out a piece of the paper large enough to leave my message to them all.

I took a deep breath and steadied my shaking hand as I began to write.

_Don't look for us. There isn't time to waste. Remember: Tanya, Siobhan, Amun, Alistair, all the nomads you can find. We'll seek out Peter and Charlotte on our way. _I wrote, hoping that those words would give them hope. My eyes began to sting and my breath stuttered as I continued. _We're so sorry that we have to leave you this way, with no goodbyes or explanations. It's the only way for us. _I knew that they would assume that I meant Jasper and I when I referred to 'us', when really I was referring to us all. But I needed them to believe that.

I knew what they would think as soon as they would read this, but it was the only way. They – Aro – needed to believe that there was no hope, that there was no alternate ending, that there was no escape. He couldn't know that we had a trick up our sleeve, if anything that would only hasten proceedings.

I would have to face the month without my family when we were in our darkest hour, I would have to face telling Jasper of the hideous journey ahead of us and that we would have to leave our family to do so, I would have to face the vision of my family believing we had abandoned them – that we didn't love them anymore… and I would have to face the fact that this might not work, and that me and Jasper would be safe while our loved ones perished.

_We love you. _I wrote honestly. I would miss them so much and just hoped that there would be a day when I would see them again.

With the book back on the shelf and the note in my hands I ran for the door. I saw that Jasper was planning on coming to get me a few seconds sooner than our agreed time.

I checked my vision of Bella walking in, by herself. I sighed in relief. But just as Jasper was coming to get me, Edward would follow as well. She wouldn't have enough time to get rid of the book. So I turned my back and lit the fire to my left, giving her a quicker means of destroying it.

I ran quickly, meeting Jasper about 50 seconds after I had left him.

"Any particular reason why you had to do that by yourself?" He asked.

"Because Bella has to do it by herself." I replied simply.

He smiled carefully. "Of course. What now then Alice? If we're heading to the Amazon surely we need to go now in order to get back here before the month is over." He added taking my hand as we ran off into the forest again - the hand that happened to have the note in it. He looked at it confused and read it quickly. "Alice! We're not going back? We can't just leave them to fight for themselves!"

I snatched the note back off him. "We _have _to."

"They are our family! We will not abandon them!"

"Jasper, we are not. This is just a distraction… a clue to the message I left for Bella, and only Bella." I waved the note in front of him, it looked like I would have to tell him now of the shameful plan I had formed, but at least we were running at the same time. "We need them all to _believe_ that we have left them, Jazz. That there's no hope left!"

He breathed out one careful and heavy breath. "You mean we need to keep it from Aro." He assumed correctly.

I nodded slowly.

"I don't like it." He was even more ashamed than I was.

He would be the one that our family would look up to, the one that would teach them how to defend themselves. Poor Bella, she would know nothing. Just an easy newborn target. The Volturi would be able to handle her with their eyes closed.

An image of Eleazar suddenly began to swirl around my head, though I had no idea why. Perhaps it would be him they would all look up to now. His knowledge of the Volturi's inner workings would prove most useful.

"But I'll do anything for you Alice. You know that." Jasper continued. He regained my full attention when he sharply swallowed his breath, though it looked as though he was swallowing his pride. "Now I assume we can't go back home to get our passports, and we don't want anyone following us, so I guess that leaves us one option." He started running west, towards the ocean.

I pulled his hand, leading him North-West instead. "We just need to make a quick stop on the way."

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	2. A Changing Constant

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favourited or reviewed my first chapter. It's really lovely to get feedback on something you worked hard on so thank you so much. Hope you enjoy this one too :] Ellie x)**_

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**The Changing Constant**

"Alice." Jasper called, but I didn't turn to face him, I just carried on running. "Alice! We're heading into wolf territory! We won't be able to pass through without being picked up by one of them!" I just carried on. If I let him know now then he'd turn us back. "Alice!" Just a little bit longer… "If we carry on this track we'll run right into a wolf!"

"That's exactly what I'm hoping for!" I finally bellowed. I held out the note again. "Do you really think I was going to run around with this in my pocket for the next month?"

A growl rumbled quietly in his chest. Despite our alliance this summer, Jasper still wasn't keen on our supernatural neighbours. It was probably something to do with the fact that I was blind when it came to them.

It hit me then! Like a fist plunging into my stomach at a hundred miles an hour. It nearly knocked me off my feet!

I was _blind _to them. _Blind! _Just as I was blind to Nessie. Just as I was blind to this anonymous factor hidden in the rainforest. I couldn't see it in these visions not because I had yet to know what I was looking for… it was because I was _blind _to it!

Why did I overlook this? Was it some kind of subliminal protection my mind had formed to keep me from understanding my vision in Edward's presence? It didn't matter anymore. Because I knew now!

My feet stopped before I told them to, bring the dirt from the ground up with them. "I know what we're going to look for!"

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked, worriedly. "You mean you didn't before?"

I shook my head. "I couldn't see it before… well I still can't, but now I know why!"

He stepped closer and held the tops of my arms gently. He ducked his head slightly to look into my confused and wondering eyes. "Why, Alice?" He whispered.

"Well…" I felt silly saying it. It felt so obvious now. "Either we're going to look for a werewolf, or Nessie's not as unique as we first thought…"

Jasper stepped back a bit and I could hear his slow intake of breath. "Alice… you understand what you're suggesting?"

I'm not quiet sure I did.

"We're going to spend an integral part of the next month looking for something that you can't see, that might not even exist, and that might not even help us?"

"But it does…and it will." I said so weakly that even I didn't believe it.

"I don't see how, Alice! Even if by some miracle there is another hybrid in the world, how will he or she or_ it _be able to stop what you yourself have seen happen to our entire family? Just… _how_?"

"I don't know Jasper, I really don't. But won't you please just trust me. I can't help fight this feeling of hope that it gives me!"

I held out my hand towards him, mimicking the first time we had met.

He smiled a stunning smile as he reached out and took it instantly. It was so beautiful that for one half of a second, I forgot about everything apart from him.

I wished that it could have lasted forever – this wonderful sense of peace and love that was swimming through me now, that was so warm that it could have melted my ice cold body. I wished I could have taken Jasper in my arms and held him forever. I wished we never had to move. I wished I could freeze time so we never had to face what was coming…

… But I couldn't.

"We need to hurry." He said softly as if he was picking the thought from my head.

I nodded and inhaled deeply. I hadn't even turned back to face the way we were going when a cold shiver tickled its way down my back again. This time it was so strong that I quivered.

My sight was taken away from the forest in front of me and into the Volturi's grand hall. It focussed on Irina's twitching, golden eyes – seeing the regret in them, but also the determination.

"She's doing it now." I said to Jasper, hoping he would hear me. I had no idea if he was even there. The vision had wrapped itself around me so tight that I was now oblivious to the real world.

"_An immortal child?" Caius screamed._

_Aro's smirking face. "Perfect…" He breathed to himself._

The image changed, formed itself into a scene that would happen over the next hour.

"_What if the accusation proves to be false?" Marcus's dead voice whispered._

"_Aro has seen it for himself!" Caius roared. "There is no denying it! Besides… We will give them no chance to deny it!"_

"_Brothers… peace." Aro soothed. "We need not discuss it… especially now our decision has been made. Our words and actions are not safe…"_

"Damn it!" I squealed, coming out of my vision. "Every time I think we're getting somewhere…"

"What is it Alice?" Jasper asked, he was now as close as was possible. His hands squeezed the top of my arms and his forehead was gently

"Nothing, really. It's just… Aro knows me too well now! He's not saying anything that I will be able to see. Nor is he making any more decisions. For all he knows I'm still at home feeding the information to everybody else."

"I don't understand?" His eye brows furrowed deep into his forehead. "Why would Aro even care what you saw now? In his eyes we're all just sitting bate. They've dealt with situations like this so many times. It's _easy _for them! Just another day…"

I swallowed my breath. "_Not punishment, but acquisition…" _I quoted Eleazar's words.

"What did you say?" Jasper gasped. Not because he hadn't heard me… it was almost as if he had heard the words before.

I sighed, because I knew that as I would speak these words, the vision that I did not want to see would accompany them.

I looked forward, back to the battle. The vision that I tried so hard to block out, to ignore, to escape from, was now present in my mind. I was back there. But this time I was floating above it. I was no longer part of the group of vampires gathered to defend my family. It had adjusted in accordance with my decision to leave.

My sight hovered above both groups and then swooped down so it was now level with Edward, who was whispering to Carlisle.

"_They're not sure how to proceed… They've never been outnumbered before… That's what stopped them…" _The words were slurred, patchy and echoed strongly. But they were certain.

I tried to turn the vision around so I could see what Edward could see. It did so slowly, as though it was feeding from the tension within it. It was the first time I had clearly seen the Volturi troops. They were all positioned artistically, not like ink anymore – not one block of colour, but an array of different shades of black and grey. It was finally clear because the image wasn't blurred with motion anymore. They were still. Undoubtedly still.

"They will stop, Jasper..." I murmured.

The vision then fast-forwarded, following Edward as he walked slowly towards the Guard.

"_I will have every facet of the truth… And the best way to get that is to have the evidence directly from your talented son." _Aro swooned. I had already seen what proceeded, Edward holding Aro's hand… the reason why I was here.

"…They will hear our case…" I continued.

"_Half mortal, half immortal, conceived so and carried by this newborn while she was still human…" _The words were not Edwards defending himself… they were Aro's as he announced it to his army. But his eyes were not facing them; they were looking towards my family… though the focus in them was all wrong. He was looking at something directly in front of him, but I couldn't see what exactly. Was it Nessie? I shook at the thought of Aro being that close to her.

"…They will even accept that Renesmee is not an immortal child…"

"_No broken law, however does it follow that there is no danger? No... Danger that cannot simply be ignored…" _Aro's dark words sprang.

He then returned to his clan and while the decision was being made, Jane and Alec would get to work, making it impossible for anyone to escape.

Siobhan and Liam then ran, as did the majority of the nomads. My mind then replayed the vision that I had first seen in the house. Bella, Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, Edward and Emmett… _gone._

"… but they will still attack Jasper! Why do you think that is?" I asked him sincerely.

There were a couple of seconds of silence while he processed my words, but I also wondered if he was trying to put off saying his conclusion.

"Because it's not just about Ness, it's about _you _as well?" He admitted. "And the others… Benjamin, Zafrina…"

"There's so many more layers to this than any of us could have expected." I continued over his fading voice. "This isn't just another day for them! This is devious and radical and …worrying."

There were many worried faces on the clearing, but rather interestingly the majority of them came from immortals I had never seen - the Volturi witnesses. Their expressions were confused and almost insulted… as if they had seen something that shouldn't have happened.

The vision zoomed out quickly and sharply and focussed on Aro's face… Aro's embarrassed face. If it was human it would be blushing! Was he embarrassed by words? Or actions? Or was he just regretting his very own witnesses observing something fraudulent? Seeing the Volturi in their true light?

"It's like they're not sticking to their own rules anymore…" I finally finished, it took some effort to tear my self away from Aro's eyes… It felt like there were so many answers there.

"That's because nobody has ever _refused_ them before, Alice." Jasper's eyes looked down and to the right. "_'Acquisition' _you said… it's not the first time. I've heard of it before - Aro saving the gifted ones and offering them a place within his guard. It's not something you turn down… But Edward did, Bella did and so have _you. _Because you were all tied so closely to us, your family. But if your family are out of the picture… well then, there's nothing there to help you resist Chelsea's pull…" His mouth turned down at the sides.

I placed my tiny hand on his right cheek, I had feared the same. "I will _never_ choose them!" I promised.

"You might not have a choice my dear…" He said regrettably, and I knew he was right. The sickening vision of me standing on Aro's flanks still fluttered into my sight every now and again. "…Which is why we need this insane plan to work, isn't it?" He sighed, forcing smile on his face.

I nodded optimistically. For as long as I had hope, I would have a choice. "Right now, we need to find Sam…"

We only had to run for no more than a minute before the stench of dog hit me, telling me that we were close to the border. We both stopped, not wanting to step over the line.

It was completely silent, there were no wolves near by – there weren't even any small woodland critters in the forest around us… their natural instincts telling them to vacate the immediate area around us.

"How do we get their attention?" I whispered.

"I don't think they'll respond kindly to 'Here doggy, doggy!'" He said sarcastically.

I looked at him and rolled my eyes. "Sam!" I cringed as I called out into the forest.

And there it was. That black mist that was so familiar now dissolved my entire vision. Our future was temporarily lost.

"He's coming." I whispered to Jasper, hardly moving my lips.

We both moved our heads quickly to the right in complete synchronicity following the sound of bushes shaking.

I could hear twelve feet touching the ground, but only four sets of beating hearts. Two of them were obviously walking on four legs!

We could hear the gentle growls before we saw them. Two huge boys stood in front of us, but Sam Uley was not one of them. There were two wolves standing on the shoulders of their brothers with the fur on their backs starting to roll into gentle bristles.

"What are you doing here?" The one on the left said. "I thought you'd all be together right now. Jacob was speaking to Sam on the phone when we left. We know about… what you saw." He took a cautious step towards us, and Jasper angled his body slightly in response. Not in an aggressive way, he did it automatically – getting into the best position to protect me. "If you've come to ask for our help, then it's kind of a wasted journey… Of course we'll help out – as we did before."

"Although it's nothing like what we did before!" Jasper spoke strongly.

The wolf on the right growled loudly.

"Hey!" I raised my voice a bit too loud, making Jasper squirm a little as well as the five Quileutes. I didn't care - I needed their full attention. "I need to see Sam… Now! It's a matter of life and death."

He looked at me cautiously, raising one eyebrow slightly. He turned his head to the wolf beside him. "Has Sam phased yet?"

The large dog nodded obviously.

"Tell him to come here now."

We all stood in silence for the next two minutes and thirty eight seconds. It was infuriating – we needed to leave! We didn't have any time anymore.

Finally Sam appeared, still pulling up his tatted shorts… infuriating in every way.

"Alice, Jasper." He acknowledged us both, nodding his head as he said our names. "Now what is it you need that _I _can help you with?"

"When the sun rises this morning, my family will come looking for us. They'll follow our scent here – to you – and I need you to give them this."

He looked at the note in my hands. "Why can't you give it to them yourself?" He eyed me questioningly.

I bit down on my lip, an annoying habit that I apparently had picked up from Bella. "Because we won't be here."

His eyebrows creased. "How long will you be gone?"

I looked at Jasper, whose eyes immediately fell in awkwardness.

"Not long…" I lied. "We're just going to find a few friends that will help us… as you will."

Sam took the note carefully, probably making sure he didn't touch my skin. He put it in the left hand pocket of his skanky shorts.

I cringed immediately. I had seen so many items of clothing ripped to sheds when a wolf had phased, and I had the awful image of this essential note being pulverized along with it.

"Sam… we can't afford that note to be lost or destroyed…"

He held up his hands defensively. "Sorry Alice. I've got no where else to put it. But I will promise you now that it will remain safe until it's successfully delivered."

There was something so strange about his attitude… so care-free. I envied it. It was usually me who possessed such a relaxed and positive outlook in the face of adversity. But not now, there was nothing relaxing about this dire situation.

I could feel Jasper's tension emanating from him, and apparently so could Sam. His face suddenly turned awkward. "So… Is there anything else you need?"

"Yeah, you want us to call you a taxi or something?" One of the burly boys behind him mocked.

Jasper's tension quickly tuned to aggression. It would be a good idea to hasten proceedings.

"We need to leave via the ocean actually – so no one can track us. Would we be able to cut through here?" I said, hoping he wouldn't ask questions. I assumed that - thanks to Jasper's agitation – he probably wouldn't think twice about denying us.

Sam looked at both of us questioningly.

"Escorted, of course!" I added quickly. "We're just in a hurry and it would really help out."

He waited for a long moment before he made a decision.

"Just let me phase back – Then I can escort you myself."

I nodded and waited patiently as he jogged off behind a bush somewhere. The others followed him – though not all of them were going in the same direction.

"Why _do_ we have to cut through here?" Jasper asked when we were by ourselves.

"So nobody wastes their time trying to find us. They'll come here in a few hours, speak to Sam, he'll tell we left, they'll know that they wont be able to track us, and then they'll go back home." I replied hastily.

I closed my eyes, trying to look into our future – it was a bit difficult being in such close proximity to the wolves. We would have to find Charlotte and Peter on our way to the jungle… _where will they be? _I knew Jasper's friends stationed themselves around Idaho, but – as most nomads – they travelled around a lot, not staying in the same place for long. I searched for their future carefully. They were hunting tonight – so I tried to skip that bit. They would find an empty house to stay in for a few days while the weather was sunny. This meant that our journey would not be easy, but we would find them in west Utah – I recognised the beautiful scenery of the Fishlake National Forest where we had hunted whilst visiting them once.

"We'll swim right through to Santa Rosa and then we'll run to Utah. Peter and Charlotte will be there."

His head turned to me sharply. "They haven't got anything to do with this Alice. Why do we have to involve them? They do not need to die." He said sadly.

"Emmett meant it when he said that we'll give them the option. We'll let them decide what's right. All we'll ask of them is to stand by our side, Jazz. I promise."

"But it won't be _our _sides that they'll be standing by…" He said under his breath.

I didn't reply to his words. He didn't mean them in a hurtful way. He was just beating himself up about leaving. This was going to be an awful month… for us all.

Jasper held on to my hand and squeezed it gently, just as Sam came out from between the trees.

He barked quietly once, signalling us to follow him.

We all started to run. Jasper initially stayed back, about a second behind Sam, but I pushed forward so I was beside the jet black wolf.

"Sam, I need you to listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you. This situation that you are aware of is more complicated and I need you to follow these instructions as though all our lives depend on it." I said honestly before beginning. "You _cannot_ speak to Jacob until the morning. It is of vital importance that my family doesn't know we've left just yet. I can't tell you why exactly, just please understand that it's the truth. When we have left I need you to return to exactly the same spot where you met us and wait for my family to come looking for us." I paused for a second. "Will you help me help my family, Sam?"

His large head turned to me and nodded once. I smiled in return and then fell back so I was once again running with Jasper.

A few seconds later we passed by the Quilute's tiny village. Though we were just on the outskirts I could see one of the houses well. Inside, there was a small family. A mother and father, a teenage girl and a young boy. A family. All happily eating their food and talking. The image was so unfamiliar to me, but I couldn't help but picture my family's faces instead of theirs.

"I'll miss them too Alice, but we're doing this for them… yes?" Jasper whispered in my ear.

I nodded in reply, but said nothing. I didn't want him to hear my shaking voice.

It wasn't long before we emerged from the forest. Sam had led us to a cliff face, nodding his head towards the sea.

I had seen this place before – even though I had never been here. This was the exact same cliff-top that Bella jumped off all those months ago. In some kind of sick way I was about to re-enact her moves.

"We'll have to stay underwater until we get to California; otherwise we'll be ducking and diving all the time." I whispered into Jasper's ear, hoping Sam wouldn't be able to hear my plan. "It'll be sunny when we get there so don't go up until I say."

He nodded and ran towards the edge and dove straight in, looking a million times more streamline than professional divers.

I followed his footsteps, but paused as I got there. I rotated on the balls of my feet so I was now facing the gigantic black wolf.

I caught his wonderfully large eyes and caught my reflection for the first time since I left the house. I almost didn't recognise my self. _Alice the nomad. _No – that would never be the case! I would _always_ have my family… even if they didn't have me.

Sam's eyes were looking into my eyes just as intensely as I was looking at him. I could have sworn that I saw an expression of pity and confusion on the animals face.

How I wanted to tell him everything so he wouldn't judge us. How I wished I could give him any words of comfort to pass on to my family. How I wanted to thank him for staying with my family while I couldn't…

"Alice!" Jasper called from below. He was starting to get worried.

"Good luck, Sam." I whispered genuinely before leaping into the water. And in a funny kind of way, I truly hoped I would see him again.


	3. Smokescreens

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: Thanks to **__**Laura Elizabeth Cullen, Miss Alice-15, My Over-protective Fool **__**and**__** Soi Fon1**__** for favourite-ing! Thanks to **__**Carolina Grey, dolphingrl38, jilly611 **__**and**__** jalicelove **__**for reviewing. And thanks to **__**Twilighter Tabitha **__**and**__** TeamCullen Carlme **__**for sticking by me for three stories! **__**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Ellie xx)**_

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_**The Smokescreen**_

I hated holding my breath.

It was always so… uncomfortable. I couldn't smell anything; I couldn't hear anything… not to mention what spending fourteen straight hours underwater did to my clothes!

I had seen a lot whilst we were swimming. My family running together in an attempt to track us, running into a cloud of darkness as they followed the trail to Sam and Bella succeeding in the secret task I left her. Her future over the next few weeks was clear now. She would get the documents she needed in a few weeks. I couldn't deny that I was proud of her for doing it so well. I could see Edward would be aware that she was up to something, but he wouldn't have a clue what.

We were about five minutes away from the coast of Santa Rosa when I signalled Jasper to go to the surface. I had seen that there were no human eyes in the area so we would be safe if we left the water here.

"I've missed you." Jasper whispered in my ear as soon as our heads breached the surface.

I looked at him and smiled. He beautiful face was glistening with a thousand diamonds which then bounced of the water, making him positively glow.

We were almost at the beach when our future changed slightly…

We could hear them before we could see them – a group of giggling and screeching human youths. They were around the corner having only just decided to come towards the silent cove that fallen rocks and boulders had created.

Jasper grabbed my hand and we both ran towards the coast line. There was nowhere to hide ourselves. Some tiny pine filled trees would not suffice in shadowing our bodies. I needed to find somewhere for us to hide… and quickly.

I looked into every possible future. _Running east as fast as we could until we found somewhere shady… _too many humans, we wouldn't make it unseen. _Running north east, trees getting bigger, thicker… _still not good enough! _Jasper, pulling trees out from the dirt, making a huge pile… hiding, for a while…_

Jasper was already carrying out his plan as I opened my eyes. His near-century as an immortal living in the hot, sun filled New Mexico was coming in handy.

The space was awkward to get into, but it did the job. Any human would have been incredibly uncomfortable in this spot.

"How long will we have to stay here for?" Jasper asked in a low voice.

"Until a path clears for us." I said blatantly.

"Any idea when that might be?"

I just shook my head; it would be a couple of hours at least.

"Are two more numbers really going to make that much difference?"

"We need as much help as we can get!" I replied fiercely.

I sighed and let my head fall on to the branch beneath it. If truth be told, I didn't know if it would make a difference – but I saw Peter and Charlotte in the clearing! And in my opinion that meant that we needed them. Perhaps their experience with battling would prove beneficial to our side.

We sat there in silence for an hour and fifty eight minutes. It was natural for our kind – silence, stillness. But there was nothing _easy _about it… not at the moment. My mind and body _ached _to run… to continue with our mission. It was torture – waiting for a vision to hit me that would tell us where to go next… how to get out. We didn't have enough time to wait until sun down.

I closed my eyes tight, seeing a hundred possibilities flashing every few seconds. None of them would work.

I was oblivious to the conversations humming between the small group of teenagers. Apparently all they were interested in was continually jumping into the cold winter ocean, laughing and making out. It was maddening! Their petty lives were getting in the way of everything we needed to do.

Apparently Jasper's thoughts were in kin to mine, as I saw a vision of him bursting out of our hiding place and snapping the necks of the four humans beside us.

"Jasper!" I gasped.

His intense eyes looked at me quickly and relaxed. "Sorry, Alice… It was just a thought…" He grinned crookedly. "I wouldn't have done it…"

"Only because I wouldn't have let you!"

He laughed once. "You probably would have beaten me to it! I can feel how annoyed you are Alice…"

I flung the back of my hand into his stomach.

"I wouldn't have done anything…"

"Liar!" He smirked.

"Ok… well they might have deserved to be punted into the ocean, but nothing more!"

We both laughed lightly. It was nice to relax for those few seconds, to forget about our troubles. It was almost as if we were back to normal.

Until suddenly… Jasper's body tensed at some words that I had only just heard.

"Hayley, how do you feel about calling a few friends? Turning this into a party? It's the perfect spot!"

I probably should have been more worried, just as Jasper was. There would just be more eyes to catch us, less chance of us getting away. But with their words came the answer to our escape. The arrival of more people to this reclusive spot would lead to the arrival of cars!

I could already see that a young male with too much of daddy's money would pull up beside us in a black Lexus with blacked out windows. It would be easy. It wouldn't take us anymore than a second to get into the car and kick start the engine. We would have to abandon it before we got out of California, but we would be able to do so safely and on our terms.

"Alice! If you want to leave before nightfall, we're going to have to leave now." Jasper rushed.

I held onto his hand gently and smiled. "It's fine Jasper… In fifteen minutes the perfect car is going to pull up right beside us. We'll get in it and drive away without anyone seeing us! Eight hours until we find Peter!"

Jasper's face was set deep in concentration. Finally he nodded. "Just tell me when."

The time passed slowly. We listened intently for every sound, to every word. Fourteen minutes and thirty four seconds later the sound of four wheels crunching against the sandy path resounded in my ears. Jasper's body twitched, so I stretched out my hand, holding him down.

"Not yet." Was all I said.

The car came to a stop only a couple of yards away. I could see the front left wheel through our make shift hut.

There was an audible gush of air as the driver's door opened bringing a strong scent of blood along with it. It seemed to intensify in the tight space around us. Jasper's hands were clenched tight, as were his eyes.

"Just a few more seconds." I whispered reassuringly. I could tell he wasn't breathing.

We both listened as the anonymous boy's footsteps slowly began to fade. "Hey! I brought us some beers!"

"Now!" I hissed.

We escaped from the small mountain of torn up trees without moving anything or making a single sound. Jasper jumped straight over the car, getting in the passenger side while I had already opened the door and made my way inside. I pulled off the necessary part of the dashboard and Jasper dove in, hotwiring the car.

Two seconds was all it took before the car was moving, leaving nothing but dust and the screaming teenagers in its wake.

We skidded on to the tarmac road at about fifty miles an hour. It didn't take us long to get the speed up to a hundred.

I sighed in relief. Finally we were travelling at a decent speed! But for some reason I could still feel the tension in my body. In my peripheral vision I saw that Jasper's head was pressed against the head rest, his eyes were squeezed together tightly and his hands were clutching onto either side of his seat.

"Jasper?" I said calmly, looking at him instead of the road. I had already taken a good look at it, noted every slight turn and bump. I wouldn't need to look at it again until we turned the corner. "Jasper, it's ok, you can stop holding your breath now."

He didn't reply, he just closed his eyes even tighter. The knuckles on his hand looked as though they might pop right through his marble skin. The car positively reeked with the human's scent so it couldn't have been at all comfortable for Jasper.

I looked behind me. I had noticed a set of clothes on the back seat and was hoping to coerce Jasper into them later, but it looked as though he was struggling with his thirst. Now I was hoping to find something else instead, something humans with spare clothes tended to carry with them. I found the tin can as I rummaged through the various random items behind me and began spraying it all over the car.

After a while Jasper's face relaxed and he finally opened his eyes, which seemed a much darker colour than a few minutes ago.

"Do we have designated hunting times on this trip?" He smiled ironically.

"Sorry, Jasper. We'll hunt on the way to Peter and Charlotte. It's only a few hours." I replied.

He nodded slowly and finally released his tight grip on the seat. He sat quietly for a few moments. He was toying with idea of asking me something, though his intended question was already revealed in his future.

"Just ask me Jasper!" I laughed.

He smiled crookedly. "What are we going to tell them, Alice?" He sighed. "Can we even tell them anything at all?"

I had time to think about this as we were swimming. The short answer was 'no, we can't tell them anything'. That would be the easiest thing to do, but also the hardest. Not being able to prepare them for what was waiting for them at ours, not being able to tell them that by do as we asked they would have to stand against the Volturi, not being able to promise them that we would actually see them again…

"Very little. For everyone's sake."

"You better tell me everything Alice… I really don't want to say anything that could mess this up."

I nodded understandably. "Ok… We don't tell them about Nessie, otherwise they won't go…" I began.

"What will stop them from leaving ours when they _do _find out?" He interrupted.

"Ah, that's different. Tanya and her family will already be there, and be fully accepting of Ness. Peter and Charlotte will be fine with them there for moral support."

Jasper nodded coldly, just taking on board the information. "What else?"

"We don't mention anything about where we're going, or even let them get a hint of which direction we'll be heading in. And we can't let them even _think_ that we might see them again."

"Why not?" He asked. "Wouldn't we only be bestowing a bit of hope in them?"

"If they believe we'll see them again then it will only put them in danger."

Jasper just looked confused. "Sorry Alice, I don't see how…"

"I can't see them fighting, Jasper. They've got too much respect for the Volturi to stand against them… too much fear. They won't fight, which means they won't die. If Aro gets hold of their thoughts and believes that there's even the slightest chance that they will see us again then he will use them to get to us." _To get to me… _"The less they both know, the less Edward knows…"

"And the less Aro knows." Jasper finished my words.

I smiled dryly. "I'm sorry Jasper… for everything!"

His whole body rocked towards me in no time at all. "Alice! Don't ever think such a thing! None of this is your fault!" He leant back into the car seat. "It is no one's fault. Nessie is a wonderful, beautiful and incredibly special being who has given our family so much joy and happiness… more than we ever deserved. Nothing will ever make us regret _her… _even this. She's worth it." He smiled genuinely, thinking about his only niece. "And I would do this a million times over if it meant that there would be even a _chance_ of saving her life."

I of course agreed with him fully. "It's just… implausible! Completely unbelievable that it's come to this! That one of our own has destroyed our content little world."

"From the sounds of things, this was bound to happen eventually…"

I nodded in reply. "You're right there. They were just waiting for any excuse to do this… I just think they were surprised that it came this soon." I groaned heavily. "Ergh, if only we could have had a few more years… Nessie would be pretty much mature and none of this would have happened."

My sight was taken away from me as I spoke the words. Back to the rainforest, back to the miraculous blind spot that our journey was leading to… _running… we were all running… I turned my head to the left… Jasper, and Kachiri were there running by my side… to my right… someone I didn't know… her blood red eyes were determined, but scared, she kept looking over her shoulder… to who ever was behind me… to my blind spot…_

But what did that have to do with Nessie's age?

"… I think that's probably one of the reasons that you still see them attacking even after they realise that Renesmee is not an immortal child…" Jasper was continuing saying something that I hadn't heard. "…They don't know what she will turn into… or if she'll even ever change? They are threatened by her – threatened by the unknown. All excuses, of course. You said it yourself… there are so many layers, they'll keep on digging until they find something."

My body tensed immediately at Jasper's proposal. It was as though someone had tied a lasso around my waist and was pulling me against my will to the vision of the battle.

"_You're reaching Aro…" _Carlisle's voice rang in his future. I had missed something important though, why did he say this? I tried hard to rewind the conversation, so Aro had only just spoken.

"_This amazing child… if we could but know her potential… know with absolute certainty that she could always remain shrouded within the obscurity that protects us… But we know nothing of what she'll become… We cannot know what she will grow to be…_

_Only the known is safe…_

_Only the known is tolerable..._

_The unknown is a … vulnerability… _

_I can assure you the child is not what we feared… Do we take the risk and let the child live?... Do we put our world in jeopardy to preserve their family intact?"_

The words scared me… scared me because they felt so definite, as if someone was standing next to me speaking them. But at the same time I felt complete hope, because now I knew the argument that we were ultimately going to fight… and therefore I now knew how we were going to win…

"Alice! Is everything alright?" Jasper's voice whispered tenderly.

I opened my eyes and saw that Jasper's hands had reached over to the wheel, steering it while my hands were slacked by my side.

"Oh, Jasper! You are so right!" I squealed. "They are threatened by the unknown! But she won't be the unknown if we find someone who is like her! Aro is going to argue that she shouldn't be kept alive because we have no idea what she will become, that she may be a threat – perhaps not now – but later in her life… for all they know she might mutate into some green goblin with purple spots! Of course they are using it as an excuse – to provoke an attack with that as their justification… but what if it can't be justified? What if we were to _show_ them proof that that will not be the case?"

Jasper's eyes widened. "The… hybrid… in the rainforest!"

"Exactly! All we need to do is show him or her to Aro!"

Jasper's elated face began to fall. "We can't get ahead of ourselves Alice, love. They would have to be old enough to make our case viable. It would mean nothing if they were at a similar age to Nessie…and besides… we still need to _find _them…"

And as Jasper's hope fell, so did mine. After all, the Amazon rainforest covered over two million square miles. It would take centuries to find them… if we were lucky! By which time our entire family would be nothing but a distant memory.

"And even if we did, why would they agree to come with us… to trust someone they don't even know?"

I felt my face turn suddenly very fierce as it snapped sharply towards Jasper. "Oh believe me Jasper… _If _we find this hybrid then I will make sure that Aro sees him… even if I have to drag him back myself."

The route we took to South Central Utah was infuriatingly bendy, not forming a direct route. We would have got there twice as quick if we could run as fast I was driving! We wouldn't have to stick to the roads then.

It didn't help that I kept having to change speed or direction every now and again to avoid any unwanted attention from police cars.

We pulled over before we hit the baron outskirts of the Nevada Desert. It took some effort to find a suitable car with blacked out windows and a decent engine, but we managed it eventually.

We hit the Fishlake National Forest just as the sun was setting, meaning we could safely run to the secluded house that was unreachable by car. We hunted on the way, making use of the plentiful amount of moose in the area. They held so much blood within them which meant that we should be fine for a while now – we would be able to focus on our impossible mission.

It took a while to catch on to Peter and Charlotte's scent. We ran through the forest for ages. It didn't help that I kept stopping us every few seconds, trying to track the immediate future. But I kept getting muddled up between the forest and the Amazon – my mind kept chopping and changing. I started following the direction of the hybrid rather than finding Peter's scent. It was only by chance that we came across it in the end. I felt ashamed. There I was, unable to find someone I _could see, _while asking Jasper to trust my idea of finding someone that I couldn't!

We followed the trail to an abandoned house, probably a former lodge that hadn't been used in years. They appeared from the old, rotten door just as we emerged from the trees.

"Alice! Jasper!" Charlotte called, smiling widely. She ran towards us both, embracing us quickly, but lovingly. "I knew it was you! What on earth are you two doing here?"

Peter joined her casually, at a much slower pace. "Is something the matter? You both look rather… worried?"

Charlotte's tiny face suddenly fell as she reluctantly came to the same conclusion.

Jasper and I were still silent. After all the preparation, we were both still hesitant to say anything.

"Jasper? I know that look…" Peter said, stepping forwards. "… What's happened?"

I looked at Jasper's stern face. He had no intention of asking them to do anything for him. He cared for them both too much. That left it to me…

"Peter… Charlotte…" My voice was shaky, and lower than normal. Two things they both realised. Their eyes grew wide and they eyebrows lowered a couple of centimetres on their forehead. "I need you to do something for me. Something very important. I can't tell you much about it, other than it's a matter of life and death."

They didn't nod, they didn't even move, they just listened intently. Jasper's emotions had us all trapped in a prison of worry.

"Our family… needs your help. And I need you to go to them… _now._"

It was completely silent for a few seconds, though it seemed longer.

"This is bad isn't it?" Peter assumed. "Can we not even know what it is you need us for?"

I shook my head. "You will just have to trust us, Peter."

"Of course we trust you, Alice!" Charlotte almost squealed. "There is no other being in this world that we could trust more." She looked at Peter determinedly. "We'll do anything you ask of us."

"We are leaving now?" Peter asked bluntly.

"Yes." Jasper replied in exactly the same tone, speaking to them for the first time. "We don't have a lot of time."

Charlotte nodded quickly, as though she was sykeing herself up. "Ok let's go then. Would you like to take some clothes before we leave? We have quite a good stock here and you both look rather _conspicuous _in those dirty things." She laughed harshly once. "I should have guessed something was up as soon as I saw you in _those_ really, shouldn't I Alice?" She even managed a wink.

I smiled wryly.

"A change of clothes would be great, Charlotte." Jasper said for me.

"There just inside on the right. We'll wait out here for you before we leave."

I paused. "Actually… It would be a good idea if you left now. We really don't have a lot of time…" And then I saw what she was going to say, and realised I hadn't done a good job at explaining anything.

"You're not coming with us?" She gasped.

I shook my head slowly.

"Alice and Jasper are probably going to call on a few more friends, Charlotte – I wouldn't worry." Peter's calming voice rang. Though he and Jasper exchanged a look I didn't quite understand.

"Ok then, we'll see you soon." Charlotte sighed.

I turned my head to Jasper, hoping to gain some strength from him.

Charlotte's eyes focused on us both, examining us. "What's going on Alice? What aren't you telling us?" She wasn't angry, just upset.

Jasper stepped forward, placing both hands on her shoulders gently. I wondered if he was calming her down, or just comforting her. "We can't promise you anything Charlotte, not even that we will see you again. Please, just understand that everything we say is the truth and of dire importance, and that anything we don't say we neglect for an honest reason."

She paused for a moment and then wrapped her tiny arms around him. "I'll miss you Jasper." She stepped over to me repeating the action, kissing me on the side of my head. "Take care, Alice." She smiled sadly and ran off in a north-westerly direction.

Peter nodded once to Jasper, no happy emotion on his face, and swiftly followed her.

We waited until we could no longer hear the faint footsteps of our oldest friends.

"Is that really going to be the last time we see them?" Jasper whispered.

I shook my head, staring off into nowhere. "I really don't know Jasper. All I know is that if this doesn't work out, then it will be safer if we didn't… for all of us."

He sighed heavily. "But it will work." He said unwaveringly, squeezing my hand.

I smiled at his attitude – his determination was exactly what I needed because I would be able to drink it in, and it would fuel my own. "Not if we just stand here feeling sorry for ourselves. Now grab me some clothes – some sturdy ones! We don't have time to waste now. Let's go find us a hybrid."


	4. Emerging Gifts

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: Hello everybody, sorry it's taken a bit longer to update this time. I've tried hard to not rush this story as I want to get as much from it as I can. So this story concentrates only on Alice and Jasper as they continue on the next stage of their journey. There's a small part at the end of Breaking Dawn where Bella says that Jasper looks more 'central to the family picture' than ever before, and I attempted to address the reason behind that in a small section of this chapter. Hope you enjoy! Ellie xx)**_

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_**Emerging Gifts**_

Jasper rolled his eyes and forced a smile. "You can be such a nerd sometimes."

I stuck out my tongue as his disappeared into Peter and Charlotte's house. I took this rare moment of not been in his presence to pause, and to really concentrate on what we had to do over the next five weeks.

There were only three things really, but each one would be a struggle in its own right. Number one: Find Kachiri, Zafrina and Senna. Number two: Find the invisible hybrid. And Number three: Get them back to Forks.

I knew the general area where the Amazon coven lived. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and I had visited them not long after we had joined the family. Jasper was… struggling, to say the least… and Carlisle had suggested a holiday of sorts. He had talked about the wonderful animals to choose from in the Amazon – how different their blood was. I remembered how Jasper's mouth was almost drooling. While we were there we visited Carlisle's friends. I couldn't help think how different they were to him, Esme and my newly adopted brothers and sister… and neither could Jasper. I think that was a turning point for him – seeing the two extremes of civilisation for our immortal world – and he made the important choice of who he wanted to be. I had always wondered if Carlisle had planned that side-trip on purpose.

I sighed while remembering my wonderful and kind-hearted father, and realising how much I missed him already. It had only been twenty-four hours since I had seen him, but there was something about being in a bad situation that always made me cry out for him. While we were in Volterra I wanted nothing more than to have Jasper and Carlisle by my side – more so that Emmett. Perhaps all any girl wants when times get bad is to be held by their daddy.

"Alice?" Jasper suddenly called, peering around from behind the door – a small bundle of clothes in his hands. "What's wrong?"

I scoffed under my breath. So much for using my time wisely! I had barely thought about anything to do with our journey.

"Nothing. I just miss them all so much already." I huffed.

He walked over slowly, balancing the clothes in one hand and reaching out to stroke my face with the other. His fingers moved across my cheek as though he was wiping away an invisible tear. "We'll see them again, Alice."

I smiled forlornly. "How can you sound so sure?" I said, with an almost jealous hint in my tone. Nothing was sure for me anymore. Too many black spots clouding my sight.

"I'm not. We've just got to be _hopeful._" He smiled. "Besides… there is no other being in the whole entire world that has a better chance of getting this done than you!" The smile had gone and there was nothing but seriousness in his tine. "Now get changed, we've got a lot of rainforest to cover."

I slipped into Charlotte's clothes easily; we were pretty much the same size. Jasper had found me a thick pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt… Bella would have a field day if she saw me in this! But it didn't matter, they would suffice for a couple of weeks. I made Jasper pack a rucksack full of spares for us to carry on our journey. We wouldn't have any opportunities to re-stock as soon as we hit the rainforest.

"What's the plan Alice?" Jasper asked, ready to go.

I tore my eyes away from the quickly darkening sky, wishing I didn't have to, for it would signify the beginning of my ludicrous attempt to save my family.

I turned my head to Jasper after one heavy blink. "We go back to the car…"

I was cut off by the sound of a police officer calling out the car's licence plate over his radio in about an hour's time. _"Yes Chief, the car has just been spotted just east of Flagstaff…"_ Our side trip to Peter and Charlotte had cost us our chance of getting out of the state undetected. It wouldn't be a good idea to take the car now – I didn't have the time to break out of jail, nor did I have any cash on me to bribe off a police officer. But driving was so much faster than running.

"We drive as fast as we can and as long as we can in a south east direction…" I checked our future again, an hour and forty minutes is all we would have. We didn't have enough time to take alternate and longer routes. "… We abandon it outside of Arizona, find another – we won't have to worry about what type… it just has to be fast." We'd be travelling at night for the most part and then in the thick winter mist for the latter, no need for blacked out windows. "We'll pass through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas quickly and efficiently and get to Huston in eleven hours." I sighed looking at my borrowed clothes which will only break, rip and fray more easily after two days of swimming! "Then we swim to South America."

Jasper nodded. "That will give us a month to find the hybrid until we need to start heading back if we're going to make it in time."

"One month…" I agreed.

Jasper came close to me once again, gently moulding his hand into mine. "I think we'll be able to do it Alice. I really do." He said seriously.

I thought about it honestly – the possibility of finding the only thing in this world that could save our family. I calculated that it would take 98,039 days to search every mile of the Amazon. If I concentrated hard enough I would be able to tell which direction would lead to our blind spot, but I would have to be able to evaluate every possible route for every step I took. It made my head hurt just thinking about it. If only we had a starting point, something to point us in the right direction.

The flash of green made my body jump and I felt my eyes twitch as they focused on the three faces in front of me. I was confused as Senna and Zafrina looked sadly at Kachiri and slowly walked away, though it was obvious they didn't want to. The image blurred as it fast-forwarded, my legs running fast underneath me, Jasper beside me… Kachiri in front of me.

I had seen the second half of the vision already; it had always been the first clue to our salvation. Kachiri was the key. She would be the guide that we needed to get us on our way.

"We will need help though, Jasper. We can't do it by ourselves." I exhaled finally, beginning to run back to the car.

"Are the Amazon's coming with us?" Jasper said, joining me now. "They know the area. Perhaps they will know where to look? Even just a general direction?" He assumed.

I shook my head. "Not all of them."

My eyes stared at the blurry image of Bella and Edward talking about the talented member of the Amazon coven late at night, alone – well almost, I couldn't help but notice the black hole lying in Bella's arms.

"_Extremely talented, if she were to agree to help us… if it came to it… well then it would be a major advantage…"_

"_And if she doesn't agree?" Bella's voice whimpered._

"_Bella… just think about how much help she has been already, how much confidence she has given us all, how much guidance she has given you…"_

"They are needed at ours. Especially Zafrina." I added.

Jasper sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "How are we going to convince them to separate? You've seen how they are… like one being, one unit…"

"Just like us you mean?" I interrupted. He knew I meant our family, not just the two of us. "Nobody could ever divide us… but we all have to make sacrifices when it's the right thing to do."

We had just reached the car. We both got into it seamlessly, still continuing our discussion. It was only a few seconds before we were moving again.

"Of course your right Alice, but we made the decision to save someone who we unconditionally love... they don't have that want or _need_ to help, they don't know us well enough to have complete faith in what we are asking them like…" His breath stuttered instead of mentioning the names of our dear friends. "… They don't even know about Nessie, and I'm assuming that we won't even be able to tell them about her?" He questioned.

My eyes just focussed on the road. "I'll try and persuade them as best I can Jasper. They'll know something is wrong when we turn up anyway – I mean, it doesn't happen regularly does it?" I tried to stop my tone of voice from sounding condescending. "Like many of the people who are going to agree to help our family they have a great and deep respect for Carlisle. When they find out that _his_ family and _his _principals and _his _compassion are in danger, then they won't hesitate in wanting to help him. Many of his friends do not agree with our methods, Jasper, but they have so much admiration for him. He is everything that they wish they could be, even if they don't admit it."

He shook his head and laughed once. "How could anyone deny you anything?" He said reaching over to me and stroking my cheek.

I tore my eyes away from the road and shrugged. "That's what I'm hoping for."

"So who will it be then, Alice? If not Zafrina, then perhaps Senna? Or Karachi?"

I remembered a conversation I had with Carlisle in our early years together. It had happened only a few days after we had met this mysterious coven. I was so fascinated by them I had questioned Carlisle about them for days.

"_Where did they come from? How did they originate?"_

"_How did any of us?"_

_I growled under my breath. "You know what I mean!"_

_Carlisle chuckled in reply. "Karachi was the first to be turned…"_

"_Karachi?" I interrupted harshly. "But I though Zafrina was their leader?"_

_Carlisle grimaced. "In one sense of the word… she does not control them, nor tell them what to do, they just look up to her for protection. With her ability, an intruder could walk right past them without seeing them… she controls what they can see of course. All she has to do it show them the exact scene in front of them, but neglect to show them herself and her sisters."_

"_Yes, yes I understand that… but what about Karachi? You said 'in one sense of the word', what about the others?" I asked impatiently._

_Carlisle remained completely calm despite my haste. "Each of them has their purpose in that small coven. You might say that they are all leaders, just in different ways, with different responsibilities. Zafrina is the protector with the confidence to speak on their behalf, Senna has immaculate awareness and perception – not in the way of an ability so to speak, but her senses are always heightened as though she is always twice as alert as anyone else, and Karachi has the knowledge and experience that truly leads them. She was the turned them both after six hundred years of being alone."_

It was nice to get our answers from a memory instead of a premonition.

"Kachiri is the oldest by over six hundred years! She's the one who knows the entire rainforest like the back of her hand. She's all we need."

It was an entire four minutes before Jasper spoke again. "Alice…" He paused again. "I… I actually think we can do this. I mean… with Karachi's help and your ability, finding the hybrid will just be a matter of time…"

"That's if it does exist!" I whispered.

He ignored me. "… and then the Volturi would have no excuse to execute." His whole body rotated in the seat to face me. "What do you see Alice? Has _anything _changed?"

I was scared to look that far ahead. A thousand different possibilities flashed in the centre of my vision, some very similar with only one or two differences depending on miniscule decisions. But there was only one vision that was blindingly obvious, pushing its way to the front. To me, this meant that what I was about to see would be the likely conclusion, the most probable… the current course that we were on.

The images that welcomed me were by no means pleasant or something that I wanted to see. Not much had changed. My family still stood there, alone now, awaiting their death, their eyes unfocused, completely unaware of everything around them. Except for Bella… She was completely conscious, scared, trying to wake Edward from his trance, but unable to do anything. That vision led to their absolute demise.

But there was another option… Not as obvious, but a clear opportunity. The only reason it stood out was because it was the only one which didn't end in death. For some reason in this one everyone was standing there as Bella was in the previous one. Not just my family but all of our friends. No one had left them, no one had dulled their senses… but _why?_

"There are many possibilities, Jasper…"

I didn't understand, and it made that vision hard to concentrate on. It was so much easier for me to see the first one, the one that I had seen all along. The second one – the one I wished would become clearer to me – had a missing link. Something was yet to be discovered that would lead to the colossal difference in the two visions.

"…and there are still stones left unturned, questions still to be answered, roles and responsibilities still to be recognised…"

_Bella, Bella, Bella… _She was all I could see now. Her face was straining, tensing, concentrating… but the picture was too blurry. I couldn't make hardly anything out… _something yet to be discovered_. And until it was, our family would die.

"If you asked my mind, I would say that our family is still in great danger, and that the day will end in their deaths."

I couldn't see what was happening, but whatever it was would stop the Volturi from attacking. Whatever it was that hung on Bella would halt their troops long enough to allow myself, Jasper, Karachi and the two anonyms beings to get there in time to plea our case. There was no vision to back up these thoughts, they sprung from the optimism that I just couldn't deny.

"But if you were to ask my heart… then I would say that there is still hope for us all. And that, yes, there is one conclusion that will lead to our liberation.

But it wasn't set in stone; there was no evidence that this might be the case. But I had faith that the missing answers would reveal themselves to me as and when the decisions behind them were made.

"But many things have to happen for that to be the case. And unfortunately, I can't see most of them."

Jasper relaxed and held onto my hand gently, closing his eyes in deep concentration.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him.

"Being back at home, with our family." His sandy eyebrows creased over his shut eyes. "I don't think I've ever appreciated them as much as I do now." His deep golden eyes flashed open and flickered around in front of him. "I've taken them for granted Alice. I was too concerned about you when you went to Volterra that I didn't recognise all they did to support me – even when they were hurting just as much." He rubbed his forehead with his right hand as if he were massaging away a headache. "Ever since we've been a part of this family I've never been _without them…_ and now that it's a possibility I can't help but regret all the missed opportunities I had to tell them all how much I _love _them, all the times I should have thanked them for everything they have done for me, and everything they've had to put up with."

"Jasper…" I tried to sooth.

"I've always intentionally put myself on the outside of the family, because I felt that it was all I deserved. I didn't deserve the love I felt from Esme, I didn't deserve Carlisle's pride, I didn't deserve the buzz that Emmett's joy and excitement gave me. And I regret feeling like that… I regret not _embracing_ it. So I want this to work Alice…" He looked across to me, his eyes sad and parched, like the driest of deserts. "_I need it to work_… because I won't be able to live with myself if I don't get the opportunity to make things right, to make up for lost time.

"Then it will work, Jasper. I promise you." I sat there quietly, barely seeing the road in front of me, and all I focussed on was the vision of my family safe, and my feet running towards them with the solution to all of our problems by my side. It would become true, no matter how distant and vague it seemed.

The morning came quickly as we travelled east, but thankfully it did not bring the blazing Texas sun with it. We were able to travel all the way to Houston in our small Chevrolet which we acquired near Winslow. Jasper though it would be best if he drove from now on, meaning I would be free to concentrate wholly on my visions.

It was just past midday in Texas, meaning it was still morning in Forks. I had spent the night focussing on the only vision I wanted to see from now on, concentrating on the loop holes that would cause it to be true. But the only things I saw were the faces of Bella and Eleazar… and I just could fathom the connection. I came to the conclusion that I was getting confused between my premonitions. Tanya, Carmen, Kate and Eleazar were approaching our house now and perhaps the pressure on my mind was causing me to think about the two visions simultaneously.

Jasper's sudden scoff finally distracted me from my intense concentration.

"What's wrong?" I asked, as though I had just woken up from a deep sleep.

"Nothing…" He smiled, nodding towards a road sign indicating where we were. "It's just the last time I was here, I was… human." He laughed once. "Or should I say that the last time I was human, I was here…"

"_Interesting. That would indicate a rather powerful latent talent, if it was manifesting so clearly even before the transformation…" _Eleazar's voice rang in my ears, completely uninvited. I was apparently witnessing a conversation between Bella and Eleazar… why were so many of my visions drawn to the two of them recently? Maybe I was just subconsciously keeping tabs on my family. But there was something prodding me, telling me to keep watching.

The vision moved towards Kate. _"Can you project?"_

"_Project?" _Bella's confused voice replied.

"_Push it out from yourself…Shield someone besides yourself?"_

As she spoke the words, it felt like my whole universe changed! I could just about hear the deep inhalation of air plunging deep into my lungs as my head spun with both changing and disappearing visions.

The image that I had been trying so hard to find for the last eleven hours had finally made an appearance! Everything became clear.

With the arrival of Tanya's family came the arrival of Eleazar, the only known vampire who has the ability to sense other immortal's abilities.

His evaluation of Bella was much more than any of the rest of us could ever have assumed. She was a shield! And with this appraisal came the unfolding of our future. Now she knew, she would train with Kate to extend her shield, and she would be able to do it too! My wonderful, strong sister would be able to do anything! She would be the one who would shield our family from Alec's, Jane's and Chelsea's powers. She would be the one who would shock the Volturi into submission. Her unknown ability was the missing link, the thing that would save my family… but it wouldn't… not by itself anyway.

Yes, she would delay proceedings, but she would not be able to _stop _them. She would try her hardest to protect our family and friends for as long as she could – an almost impossible task when it came to hand to hand battle. I watched intently as the Volturi numbers began to decrease. Jane and Alec were taken apart by Kate and an immortal that I did not recognise. A few of the nameless guards disappeared from my sight in a blur of darkness – something to do with the werewolves of course. Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie dismembered Chelsea, Renata and the wives – each of them incredibly vicious when they needed to be! But Emmett and Edward had picked their fights with Felix and Demetri… they were both trying their hardest, but they could not compete against their centuries of intense training and fighting knowledge.

Bella was distracted, her fury peaking, her concentration lost… and that was the end… the vision returned to the very same ending of death and destruction. The only difference was that this time, both sides had lost.

But the alternate ending still balanced on the periphery of my extra sight, and this time, it hung on no-one except from Jasper and I.

The future was in our hands now… I only saw two options… all those other thousands of possibilities had disappeared with this new information… either we would find the hybrid, return to Forks, and save our family, or it would nothing but a red herring, and our family would die…

"Alice!" I finally heard as my eyes flickered back to the present. We were pulled over on the side of the road and Jasper's eyes were burning only a few inches from my face.

I had no idea how long it had been since I had last heard him speak. It could have been seconds or hours – I felt as though I had seen so much.

"Oh Jasper…" I sighed, complete joy in my tone.

"What is it? What has changed?"

"…Everything!" I smiled.

"Alice…" He begged.

"It's Bella… it's always been Bella!" I gushed. "She's a shield Jasper!"

His mouth opened slightly as he was about to say something, but he didn't get a chance.

"Not just for herself, but for us all... Well not yet… not until it's actually necessary… but she will be the reason that the Volturi will not attack… because they will be completely powerless against her!" My chest was rising up and down as if it contained a heart that was beating a hundred miles an hour. I wanted nothing more than to call my family with this news, but Aro must not know! He must not know anything. "She will keep them at bay until we get there. The future is decided Jasper… it just depends on us now!"

Jasper's eyes were wide and I could feel his body twitching with excitement and optimism like electricity was flowing through every inch of his body.

Without saying a word he jumped out of the car, rushed over to my side and pulled me out. He grabbed both my hands in his and pulled me with him. "Let's not leave it all up to our talented sister then… we've got a big part to play in this aswell!"

"Couldn't agree more!" I grinned, but yanked on his arm hard, stopping him in his tracks. "We just need to do it a bit more… calmly." I nodded my head to the right, just as a car came round the corner.

He took a deep breath and led me through some narrow passageways following the sound of the ocean. It was only a few minutes before we found a secluded spot.

I looked down at the grey waves. "It's going to take two days Jasper."

"I know." He sighed, "We can come up when it's dark though."

"Just look out for patrol boats off the coast of Mexico."

Jasper rolled his eyes. "You act like I've never done this before…" He joked. "Next stop: South America."

"Next stop: Salvation." I whispered, diving into the deep waves.


	5. Our Arduous Journeys

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: I'm so sorry for and utterly embarrassed by all the spelling mistakes in the last chapter… I would blame my dyslexia and the fact my spell-checked recognised a name that doesn't even exist, but reality is I just didn't check it through properly, maybe I was just too excited to update! Haha. I'm sorry anyway **__**Hope you enjoy this next chapter – we've made it to South America! Ellie x)**_

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_**Our Arduous Journeys**_

I was bombarded with many visions on our two day swim. It's surprisingly quiet and easy to focus when the majority of your senses are cut off. Of course it's very, _very _boring meaning there wasn't much else for me to do other then keep up to date of life outside of the water.

My self and Jasper were not the only members of our family working hard, and travelling out of our comfort zone at the moment.

Bella was being wonderfully devious, searching for ways to find Jenks, thinking of excuses to leave Edward to go and see him, managing herself amazingly in front if him… Watching her speak to him, shake his hand and sit so close to him with such grace and dignity made it hard to believe that she was only three and a half months old.

Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle and Esme were all pushing themselves to their limits finding witnesses. Each of them had understood the meaning behind my words when I said Nessie would have to be _shown _to our friends, so they had all made the decision not to _tell _them about her. Instead they would tell them that our family was in danger and that unless they helped us, then we would certainly die. It wouldn't be a lie either. If we didn't have our strong force of witnesses present when the Volturi arrived then they wouldn't even stop for their ridiculous farce to begin.

I could see Rosalie and Emmett running across the whole of America searching for nomads. They had already found Garrett who jumped at the chance to help. The course they were on would lead them to Mary and then quickly to Randall, both of whom were Carlisle's friends back from his travelling days. They would find each other on the way to Washington and arrive at our home together.

I watched as Esme and Carlisle travelled from North Africa to Ireland in order to track down Siobhan's coven. We had visited the bubbly Irish clan a few times in the last five decades, and I knew them all well. They would also agree to visit our family and would travel to America immediately after speaking with my parents. I then followed Carlisle and Esme as they flew to a small city in England. I was confused as this journey was taking them towards someone who I did not recognise, or that I had ever even heard about. Alistair was his name, apparently Carlisle's oldest friend – the first immortal he had met after becoming one himself. But it turns out that Alistair has a severe case of agoraphobia as well as an extreme fear of the Volturi. All I could see of his future was him being escorted to Forks by Esme and Carlisle, moaning in our attic and then making a run for it some days later.

But for some reason I couldn't help draw my extra sight away from Amun's coven who inhabited the area around Egypt. Esme and Carlisle had flown there straight away to find them. I had never met Amun and his mate Kebi… but from what my visions showed me, I was glad that I hadn't – _and that I wouldn't_. It looked as though he and his mate would leave straight after their witness. Well, I suppose that is all we could ask for. But it was not the annoying and big headed man who I was interested in… it was the talented boy in his coven – very young – no more than sixteen when he was changed. The word 'talented' was such an understatement when it came to this being. Benjamin possessed an ability that I never thought could have existed…

However, my stone heart felt as though it would sink to the bottom of this ocean when I realised that his presence at our side would lead to more troubles than he deserved. As soon as Aro would see him, then he would want him too. I worried intensely for the youthful, honest and innocent vampire, his powers were miraculous and his tie to his coven's leader was loose. His future was very uncertain and I couldn't help but think it was because of us. Though he wouldn't be the only one making a huge sacrifice that day…

I had been perplexed from the very first time I had seen the image of Irina's burning body, because unlike the rest of us, she was burning on the Volturi's side. With the continuing solidification of the coming weeks and the impending battle came many answers to this question but, unfortunately, none of them indicated a different fate for my distant cousin. She would die – for certain – and although I did not know the reason behind Caius's actions, I wouldn't be surprised if he believed it would cause an unstoppable assault from the ones who loved her most… Kate and Tanya… therefore giving his army the only excuse they needed to fulfil their purpose.

I studied her face as she strolled behind the marching guard, completely out of place, absolutely confused, utterly ashamed. Her eyes intensified on her family, both immediate and extended. Forgiveness was all she wanted – to take it all back.

I blinked my eyes away from the image. As furious as I was at Irina for what she did, she was still my cousin, and she was still innocent, and she does not deserve to die! Her actions were out of anger, a complete impulse that was not foreign for our kind. And the reasons behind her decision, although incorrect, were honest.

But it did me no good to wallow in this sadness. If it did not concentrate and focus all my attention on finding the hybrid then _all_ my family would die.

I flicked my legs harder, pushing all my energy though my body, sending my body flying past Jasper. He has always been the strongest swimmer I knew – his broad shoulders, long limbs and lean body gave him the perfect dimensions – and I didn't want to slow him down any more than I already had.

Forty hours it took. Forty hours to get to Northern Colombia. It was the early hours of the morning when we reached the coast and although the sun was beginning to twinkle over the horizon, it did not bother us at all. The beautiful and ever so conveniently placed Tayrona National Forest provided excellent coverage, unlike the baron beach in California.

Jasper and I ran from the sea into the green forest, both of us feeling more comfortable straight away. It was our natural habitat, so to speak… a densely packed forest, blurring past us at eighty-five miles an hour. This was the beginning of our journey to our freedom. We wouldn't leave the jungle now until we found Kachiri, we would not leave her until we found the hybrid and we would not let her, or him, be until they had helped prove our innocence.

"Alice…" Jasper breathed, making me almost gasp as he spoke. I had not heard his voice in a long time. He brushed his hands through his sun-kissed hair, shaking off some of the moisture. "Would you please tell me what you were thinking of over the last forty hours? What did you see? I couldn't keep track of your emotions… I didn't understand…"

Rosalie always hated it when Jasper asked her to explain the reasons behind her own emotions. _"It's none of your business… I've already got one Peeping Tom of a brother; I don't need another one…" _She would always say. But she didn't understand… he wasn't asking why _she_ was feeling like she was; he was asking why _he _was. Jasper lived with other people problems, feelings and emotions all the time, but my stunning sister couldn't bring her self to appreciate how hard and confusing it must be to feel these emotions without knowing why.

I spoke to Jasper for hours about everything I had seen… Bella, Jenks, Rose, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme, Benjamin, Irina… We both mourned together for her loss, though it would not happen for weeks. We managed to find time to hunt as well, making the most of the good time we were on.

I smiled as Jasper wiped a spot of blood from the right side of his lips just after he threw the drained corpse of a jaguar behind him.

"Finished?" I asked playfully.

He mimicked the sound of a human belching. "Quite. Shall we?" He added, waving his arm before him.

I rolled my eyes. "'You can be such a nerd sometimes'!" I joked, calling over my shoulder, already running in a south east direction.

He caught me up easily, jumping on my back as though he was a child on top of his parent's shoulders. I sensed him before I could feel him – the sixth sense cause by complete animalistic instincts. He reached round, kissing me on my cheek before leaping off and running beside me. "Will it take long to find them?" He asked, more serious now.

"It's hard to make sense of time out here, Jasper, so I don't know exactly when we'll reach them…" I looked ahead to when we will be with them… it was dark, well past midnight, but there was a sense of lightness tickling the sky – early morning…. "It won't be for a while though, maybe ten, eleven hours?"

"That's fine. Gives us plenty of time to find the… well you know… and will mean that it won't be long until Senna and Zafrina will get to ours."

He was right. It would be a week until our home would be full of our family again, joined by all the friends we have found – only Jasper and I were missing from the busy picture.

I closed my eyes for the next few hours, seeing the jungle in front of me through my visions only. I reassessed the route I was on every second, making sure that it would take us to the Amazon coven. This was just usual practice for me, second nature even. I did it to find the best meal when we hunted, to keep me away from roads patrolled by police officers and to keep a track on mine or my family's immediate future for any reason. It was all good practice for the coming weeks… Though finding a blind spot would be a million times harder than finding someone, or something, I knew.

We were deep in The Amazonas now. Ten hours and twenty two minutes after we had last stopped, Jasper skidded on the loose layer of soil on top of the ground we were running on. He was completely motionless now. "Alice." He whispered harshly. "Did you smell that?"

I opened my eyes, and turned to face him. He was about thirty metres away from me, his nostrils flaring and his eyes darting around.

If truth be told I didn't catch anything out of the ordinary, but I was also not paying any attention to anything other than my extra sight, just letting it absorb all my other senses and therefore ensuring that all my energy went into finding Kachiri as quickly as possible.

I just shook my head in reply, beginning to listen intently to everything that was around me. A few animals and birds a mile or so away, making sure they didn't come near the beasts that ranked high above them in the food chain; a stream or estuary trickling sweetly chilled water stretched for a few miles both east and west of where I stood. I could see nothing but the wonderful colour of green that the dark night and the bluish light reflecting from the moon gave the foliage scattered all around. I could smell nothing but the scent of the hundreds of varieties of plants, fruits and flowers in the local environment, and the moist soil caused by the latest rainfall.

My assessment did nothing to calm me though… what had Japer sensed that I hadn't?

"Somebody's here." He whispered as the sides of his lips turned up into a smile.

I looked into his future but sighed in relief immediately. He was right, somebody was here…

I smiled as Jasper jumped up onto one of the branches above his head following the scent that he had caught. I moved to where he had been standing and inhaled deeply. I recognised it straight away, as Jasper had. Grapefruit, mango dulled with chocolate and cinnamon.

He sped along the bough of the large buttress tree until he came to a sudden halt, as though there was an invisible wall in front of him. His eyes were looking beyond it though, wondering why the scent came to a unexpected stop.

He looked back towards me confused, and I just grinned in reply. He turned back, once again staring off into nothing. "Zafrina?" He breathed.

The scene I was looking at changed abruptly. The setting was exactly the same, though now we were not the only ones here.

They appeared in front of Jasper before either of us had time to think. His eyes blinked and flickered in shock as they refocused of Zafrina's face, only a few millimetres away from his.

"Jasper?" The newly appeared dark haired figure replied sending Jasper flying through the air, absolutely stunned.

He landed beside me, shaking his head. He laughed once. "You didn't have to scare the crap out of me!"

The three elongated bodies of Zafrina, Senna and Kachiri jumped down from their hiding place and landed gracefully a few metres in front of us. All of their faces wore the same identical expression of confusion.

"Scare the… _what?_" Zafrina asked.

Jasper grimaced. "Doesn't matter… We've been looking for you for hours. We need to ask you all something…"

"Where's Carlisle? Is he not with you? Is he well?" She spoke again in her bizarre accent that I could never quite place.

I stepped forward, taking the lead. "Zafrina, Senna, Kachiri… our family is in danger… severe danger. Our parents and siblings have been travelling as we have, trying to find friends that will help us."

I paused as all three of them took a slow inhalation of breath.

"You must be fighting quite a warrior if you are summoning so many of Carlisle's acquaintances…" Zafrina questioned.

"… And there is only one warrior I can think of that would have the large Cullen Clan running scared…" Kachiri added seamlessly as if it were the same person speaking.

Zafrina and Senna looked across to her puzzled. "Who sister?" Zafrina asked.

"The Volturi. The ones who make our laws, which we are to stick to every day." She turned back to Jasper and I. "What has happened to call for your coven's execution Alice?"

"Nothing that is actually true Kachiri, we can promise you that." Jasper pleaded.

"They are coming for us all, for a reason that, as Jasper said, is a lie… and from what I have seen, they have no intention of stopping to hear our case that will mute their accusation… unless…"

"… unless we have our friends by our side." Jasper concluded. "And that is all we ask – that you stand beside our family… we are not asking anyone to fight for us."

Zafrina turned to me. "Alice… have you seen this help your case? If we, and Carlisle's other friends, stand beside you? That will save your lives?"

I cringed, it couldn't seem as though that was the case, not to her or anybody. Hopefully Edward would only see it as her hope, and not mine. I had always found it so easy to lie – a natural talent! But I purposely neglected it now, making myself sound more like Bella trying to talk her way out of something... She could never lie… "There are many possibilities Zafrina…" I began. "All I know for sure is that if we are alone, than we will certainly die." I answered honestly, but also remembering that her thoughts would soon be Aro's.

She sighed roughly. "We don't like to leave our rainforest… In fact, there have only been a few occasions throughout the whole of our existence when we have had to – and we have never travelled so far…" She sighed. "But… it is for Carlisle, and I owe that man many things." She looked towards her sisters, standing either side of her. They didn't nod, there didn't seem to be any communication at all – just complete understanding. "We will help you, dear Alice."

"How could we not?" Kachiri added in exactly the same indifferent, but honest tone of voice.

They all smiled, waiting for us to leave so that they could follow, but we were far from done… and the hardest part was yet to come.

"When shall we leave, young ones?" Zafrina asked, her charcoal eyebrows denting her forehead. "I assumed we would have to hurry?"

"Jasper and I will not be leaving with you…" The next intake of breath I took stuttered through my lips. Though I was not threatened by the three vampires, I found them very intimidating – especially since all three of them towered over me. "… And we will not be returning home." I dodged their judging gazes and carried on. "It is the only way that we can survive." I lied again. "So I must ask you, Senna and Zafrina, to leave your home to go and help my family when I am unable to."

"And what about Kachiri?" She almost gasped. She linked both their fingertips as she spoke, almost as if the thought of being away from her made her miss her already.

I repositioned my feet so they faced Kachiri. "There is something we need you to do, Kachiri…and you will not have to leave the rainforest for you to do so. It is your indisputable knowledge of the area that we need. It is of the utmost importance, and I would never ask you to leave your sisters if it were not."

All was completely still for a few seconds. Jasper stood by my side silently, though I could feel the aura of trust and persuasion he was flooding us all with.

The two Amazon's in question looked at each other intensely and then turned their heads to look and me and Jasper. "Very well." Zafrina breathed. "Karachi will do as you ask of her. We trust your judgement was much as Carlisle does, Alice… and I know he thinks a lot of you." Her words were carefully chosen. "Is there anything you would like us to pass on to him? A message perhaps?"

_A million things! _I wanted to scream. _Tell him that I love him, that I love them all so much, and that there isn't a single second of the day when they are not in my minds. Tell Esme that I miss her motherly scent and that I would do anything to have her soft hands held in mine. Tell Rosalie not to dismiss our lives like we are all already dead. Tell Emmett to be careful about the fights he picks… and to just carry on being him – happy and strong enough for us all. Tell Edward to take care of my wonderful sister and beautiful niece and to sit at his piano and play his wonderful music instead of worrying. And tell Bella… Well, tell Bella just how powerful she really is…_

_Tell them all that I haven't and that I would never abandon my family. Tell them that there is hope for us all - no matter how difficult it will be to make that hope a reality!_

My eyes suddenly went harshly dry causing me to blink repeatedly. It was uncomfortable, and all I wanted to do was sob. But they couldn't see it… Edward couldn't see it…

I just shook my head. "He knows all he has to know. But I please have to ask you to hurry on your way – there is not time to waste. We will instruct Kachiri on what she must do after you have left."

The calm atmosphere turned into one of hurriedness immediately and I silently thanked Jasper for doing so… They all needed to hear, understand and _feel_ the sincerity behind my words.

"We'll leave at once." Zafrina said.

"Thank you." I replied. "The easiest way for you will probably be to take the Pacific. Run due west and then swim due north, following the coast line to Washington State, then make your way to The Olympic National Park. Our scent is all over that area, and that will take you to Carlisle."

Senna and Zafrina just nodded.

Zafrina turned to Kachiri and gently released her hand from hers. She spoke something softly in their language. It was something that I could not translate, but it was easy to understand… _Goodbye, and take care._ There was no need to embrace – it was not part of their culture or society as it was for ours. All three of them just shared a prolonged look, saying goodbye in their own ways. I hoped that they would all see each other again… and if this worked then there will be no reason why they shouldn't.

There was nothing else but a firm nod from Zafrina and their disappearing footsteps travelling in a westward direction.

Four seconds had passed and Jasper leaped to the branch above, following the way they went. He was checking that they had left, and would return after they were out of hearing distance therefore ensure that the words I was about to speak would be held in complete secrecy.

"Where is Jasper going?" Kachiri asked, stepping after him - a complete instinct in order to protect her sisters.

I held on to her forearm, keeping her in place. "He's just making sure we're alone." I leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear." I haven't told you everything I know, Kachiri. There is hope... hope for us all… but I can't allow _them_ to know it."

Kachiri's eyebrows relaxed as she realised what I was saying. "Their leader… Aro. He cannot know there is hope for you?" She assumed correctly.

I did nothing but smile dryly.

"But what is this hope Alice?" Her excitement meant there was a sudden raise of volume in her voice.

The rustle of leaves to my left made me jump, though there was no need. It was only Jasper.

"They've left as instructed. We're safe to talk." He joined me by my side and I immediately relaxed.

"I had a vision Kachiri, of my family safe… _all _of us safe. But I couldn't see what the cause of this outcome was… I didn't understand why I was blind to it…" I was getting ahead of myself. I wish I had taken some time to rehearse what I was going to say. "Kachiri… you know I have a brother – Edward?" I began.

"Of course, Carlisle brought his to visit us when he was barely past being a newborn."

I smiled – _of course he did… _"He recently met his mate, but while she was still human… They got married _before _he changed her… and, well, Edward and Bella _consummated _their marriage."

"They had a child." Jasper pitched in. "Our niece… our wonderful, intelligent niece."

The expression I saw on Kachiri's face was not how I imagined she would look. I expected shock or confusion, perhaps even disgust… but she was… _remembering…_

"The Volturi think she is an immortal child… but she is not. She grows, she learns. She has even spent time with humans without loosing an ounce of control. But they want her dead anyway… and the Volturi will find any means to make sure that they get their way. So I had to think of a way to save her…"

Kachiri didn't move and her expression didn't change.

"I could never see Renesmee – the child – in any of my visions. It was as though she cause a black hole, absorbing the vision into the space where she should be… and whenever I look for the reason behind our possible rescue I get the same feeling, the exact same blind spot."

She finally looked up towards me, though her eyes seemed a million miles away.

"Now, there is no way I can be sure that another half vampire-half human hybrid exists, but something tells me that if it does, then it is you who will be able to help us find it."

Nobody spoke for two and a half minutes, until Kachiri's lips quivered.

"I think you might be right..." She finally exhaled.


	6. Misconceived Hope

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: I'm very sorry it's taken two weeks to update, I just wanted to get this chapter right… I did a bit of research to make sure my ideas would still be in canon. I don't want to rush anything, but at the same time I don't want to write just for the sake of it… so hope I got the right balance! Much love xx)**_

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_**Misconceived Hope **_

I could not believe it. After all the worrying, all the despair, all the visions of death and destruction. I stood there completely silent, completely motionless, but it felt wrong doing so… It felt as though there was a bright light in the centre of my body which I just couldn't contain anymore. It was either going to make my body collapse from underneath me, or it would set alight an uncontrollable amount of energy within me meaning I just wouldn't be able to stop myself from running home at a million miles an hour and screaming from the top of my lungs, _"We can get out of this alive!"_ This light was growing in accordance with my increasing hope and joy and all I wanted now was to get going!

I looked over to Jasper, expecting to see the same expression on his face, so it hit me like a brick wall when it wasn't. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

"Jasper…" I whispered, my voice sounding exasperated. "…This is good news!"

He barely managed to look at me in the eye before he turned his head away again, back to Kachiri. "We can't get a head of ourselves." He repeated, though it looked as though he was saying it to himself.

I didn't understand. What was he feeling from Kachiri that gave him so much doubt?

Her face was still, but her eyes were flickering around, as if she were seeing something that we couldn't.

"Kachiri," I asked, almost begging now. "What do you know? What do you know that could help us?"

"It was long ago…" She began, slowly. "I haven't even _thought_ of him in centuries."

"Who?" I pressed, stepping close to her. My voice was pitched much too high, but I didn't care… all I wanted to know was whether she was talking about a hybrid.

"His name was Joham." Her eyes were still hundreds of miles away. "I came across him only a few years before I changed Zafrina… in fact, he was the reason I did…" She half smiled. "He was the first immortal I had met in this life. After almost six hundred years of being alone, I finally had someone. So when he left… well, I just didn't want to be by myself again." Her smile disappeared. "He was hansom, of course; though I later realised that that feature was the same for all our kind."

I felt my face begin to scowl. She was talking about a vampire.

"I idolised his wisdom, knowledge and experience. He knew things about our world that I didn't. He told me about the Volturi and their rules. I can remember how he always used to laugh when he spoke about how they punished members of our kind. How he always said that he wasn't scared of them.

"He stayed with me for a while, a few years perhaps – no more than that. We travelled across the whole of the Amazon, making both of us very familiar with it. We got on very well, but he never used to let me hunt with him. That was the only thing we ever did apart. I never understood why, so one night – our last night together - I plucked up the courage and I followed him… I stayed well back, making sure that he was completely unaware of my presence. He was making his way deep into the jungle. I knew that there were many tribes that lived around the area so I wondered why he didn't hunt in their small villages like I did – stealing people from their homes. Why did he come to a remote area so far away from them? Did he hope he would find a huntsman alone out there, at such a strange time of night for a human being to be awake?" She took a deep breath and her tone of voice changed to one of questioning, to one of fact. "I could smell her then… nothing special… but she was alone, vulnerable, an easy target. I didn't understand why she was out this far away from her tribe, but my question was answered shortly after I thought it.

"Joham leaped down from the tree he was travelling on, landing only a step away from the human girl. But she didn't scream, nor did she try to run away. She was expecting him. They whispered things into each others ears, and shared kisses. I didn't feel betrayed – he wasn't anything other than a companion to me – I just felt confused, I knew that what he was doing was wrong… and peculiar. I couldn't even imagine being _that _close to a human without feeding. So I came to the conclusion that he must have loved her – an emotion I didn't understand or even remember feeling. But then they both began… undressing… things were becoming… intimate. I knew immediately that I shouldn't have followed him, that I shouldn't have been there. So I turned to leave… I had taken six steps before the scent of blood overwhelmed my senses. I instinctually turned towards it, wanting it. I could already feel the heat of it on the back of my throat… it was close… but it was accompanied by the sound of slurping, flowing, gushing blood. Someone was already drinking it. I growled as I turned towards it, ready to fight off anyone who was stealing my feed.

"The immortal dropped the nearly drained corpse and hissed at me, the instinct to protect his own back overrode his want to continue feeding. But as he looked up, the red haze clouding my vision cleared and I finally saw that it was Joham and his love. Of course it was, there was no one else near by, I was just unable to rationalise. He called my name, and I ran. I was scared of what he might do now that I had found out his secret. He caught up to me after a few seconds, begging me to stop and listen to him.

"'_You don't understand', _he screamed. '_Please, listen._' So I let him explain what had happened. Apparently he had trained his body to be around humans, but not for the reason that I had first thought. It had nothing to do with love…"

Her eyes finally focussed on my face.

"… He told me that he wanted to mate with a human, that he wanted to _impregnate_ one, believing that it would create a new breed of creature who would have the best qualities from both species. Apparently this was not his first attempt, and so far all of his _interests _had met the same end as this one. He said that he was in complete control while he was in their presence, but as soon as things progressed… well… you understand.

"I told him that I didn't understand his motivation, nor could I condone it. I asked him to leave, and told him that I never wanted to see him again. And I never did. I didn't know where he went, and to be honest, I did not even want to. But about one and a half, maybe two hundred years ago – after I had found Zafrina and Senna - we all went hunting, we were near Chile at the time. We came across the strong scent of human blood and so we followed it only to find a corpse of a human girl, long gone. But the sight was horrific. Her body was contorted, bent and broken… and she was almost ripped in half at her midsection, but as if it had happened from the inside-out… but even more disturbingly… her face was restful, at peace.

"There were two other scents that hung around the area close to the body. One was definitely a vampire – one of us, though I did not recognise it – but the other was odd, some abnormal type of blood for sure. Abnormal because it was not appetizing – it was just _nice._

"So I stepped closer to investigate the unusual scent and then it hit me, something I knew too well, but had not been in it's presence for centuries. It was imbedded in the corpse, and some of the air around her. It was Joham's scent. I didn't mention it to my sisters; I just told them that it was a sign of danger and that we should leave the area immediately. They didn't ask any questions. They both believed that it was the cause of one of the other types of predators that lived in this area and that there had been another vampire who had come to investigate the grotesque scene. But I couldn't escape the thought that my old companion had finally succeeded in his mission." Her voice drifted into nothing.

"You think the girl you found gave birth to a hybrid?" Jasper asked.

Kachiri said nothing, she just nodded once.

"From the research we have done, and from what we have seen, it would make sense…" Jasper continued.

"Are you kidding?" I almost screamed. "It's obvious! Of course she gave birth to a hybrid! It matches up perfectly with everything we know about the birth... everything that we witnessed ourselves!"

"Yes, Alice, but this could have been up to two hundred years ago! It's true, the evidence suggests that another hybrid was born… but none of us can be sure that it exists now." He replied in a hushed tone.

"But… but…" I stuttered. "What about what I've seen? They do exist! All we need to do now is find it!" I spun around to Kachiri. "Could you take us there Kachiri? Back to where you found the body? The general area perhaps?"

"Oh, er, yes, I suppose I could. It won't be exact… but it will only take a day to get there…" She spoke quickly, apparently trying to get to another point. "Alice, you said that you and Jasper has witnessed something that 'matches up' to my story? Edward's mate carried a hybrid child…" Her eyes were sad, worried for what might have been. "…Did she meet the same end as the girl in the forest?"

"No," I smiled. "Things were bound to turn out different when living with a fully trained doctor, a house full of clean, state of the art medical equipment and eight other people who will do just about anything you desire. Things got dangerous though, and we nearly lost her, but Edward acted quickly and changed her just in time. She woke up two days later and her new life with her new family began."

"Do you think that is what Joham has? A family for himself?" She asked.

I didn't know, and if I was perfectly honest, I didn't really care about this Joham… it was his offspring I wanted.

"I don't think so Kachiri…" Jasper suggested. "From what you have been saying, it sounds like he has no emotional connection with the ones he _impregnates… _you said it yourself, he wasn't in it for love. All he wanted was to create this sub-species. He was playing God, not Daddy."

Kachiri scoffed loudly. "You're probably right. I'm sorry, it's just bringing up a lot of memories." She stepped forward sensitively and sincerely. "You, and your whole family, deserve to be saved Alice. Everything you stand for, everything you've fought for. And if there is anything I can do, then I will do it. And I know my sisters will as well… But I don't want this to end in a fight, in a battle, for it would mean their lives would end while I was safe thousands of miles away."

"If we manage to find this hybrid and get back home with in the month then it will not… I have seen it." I interrupted.

"I know, but that's not why I said it…" She paused and took a deep breath. "It is going to be extremely hard to find them in such a small amount of time. Even with your ability, especially if you cannot see them. It could take years. "

"But it's possible…" I breathed.

"And so are their deaths?" She assumed… and assumed correctly. Even with all these miraculous revelations, the future that had once seemed so inevitable was still to be expected. I was sure it would be until we found the hybrid. "I'm sorry Alice. I just don't want you to think that I am the saviour to all your problems. But I will do all I can… Starting with taking you to Chile."

"Thank you Kachiri." Jasper said honestly. "We appreciate how hard it is to be away from your sisters."

"I'm doing this for them as well for you now. I can help save a lot of people… that's all the convincing that I need." She replied with a hard smile.

"A day, you say?" Jasper said, as we all sprinted south-westerly direction simultaneously.

Kachiri shrugged. "Maybe less."

"Alice, what do you see?" Jasper called over his shoulder.

It would take just over twelve hours, but I didn't know if we would find anything when we got there. There was no blind spot irritating my vision. And it would be this that would end up being my biggest challenge. It was all well and good evaluating every step that I take to see if it will lead to a black hole, when in fact it could be the steps that I _wasn't taking _and the paths that we were _not _on that could lead to our answers… and I would have no idea until I changed my course.

For the first time in my existence I couldn't rely on my ability to get us out a problem. I would have to be just as aware of the present as I was of the future in order to find this hybrid.

"I don't know." I replied harshly. "I don't know anything anymore." I whispered to myself as we continued on our unknown journey.

A week had passed quickly. We had found nothing in Chile but we had decided to search that area before moving on. It had started raining that night, and it had not stopped since then. It had created a thick blanket of clouds above our heads as well as making tracking even more difficult. We couldn't find a single scent to follow, everything had been washed away. We had found nothing and my visions weren't helping at all. It looked like none of the paths I had planned for us would take us to the hybrid.

Our week had consisted of nothing other than searching - searching for nothing apparently. While back home, everything was going on. Zafrina and Senna had arrived swiftly. Kachiri was pleased. Two surprising people had turned up from Romania… they did not care to defend us, they just wanted to see the Volturi die and believed our small army would be their only opportunity to witness it… or to even be a part of it.

I watched as much as I could. I followed Bella training her body and her shield to fight against our enemy, cheering her on from the sidelines. I watched Emmett tease her relentlessly, though really he was just trying to ease her anxiety and worry. I watched our house, full of family and friends all banding together, all helping each other, all supporting each other. I smiled at my parents and at my siblings as they prepared for the coming weeks, but it ripped my stone heart away when they disappeared into a blackening mist, the one member of my family that I couldn't see…

The sound of thunder and a flash of lightening brought me out of my daydream. Jasper and Kachiri were standing alert, both about twenty yards away either side of me. Their dark eyes were flickering around, but their bodies were both facing me.

The rain had drenched all of us. Jasper's gentle curls had fallen out under the weight of the water. Heavy drops of water fell from his golden locks onto his face. They ran down his cheeks and nose, falling off at his eyebrows and jaw.

It was only then when I realised his lips were moving. I shook my head, and it was as though the action unblocked my ears. I heard everything then. The incredible volume of the rain, the readiness of Kachiri's and Jasper's bodies and the words he was speaking.

"Alice?" He questioned. "Why have you stopped? What have you seen?"

They were waiting for me, apparently believing something was about to happen… maybe even that I had found what we were looking for…

"No, nothing… sorry." I said, as they both relaxed their bodies.

"Ok, where to next, Alice?" Jasper asked me, though his voice sounded a million miles away.

I didn't want to answer. I didn't want to look. It hurt my head to look. A million images flashed before me… none of them staying there for long enough for me to make any sense of them. Some were memories, some were visions of the rainforest, some were of my family, some were of our friends, some were of the Volturi, and some were of the battle… I was thinking about too much, worrying about too much… It was confusing me… It was infuriating me!

"I don't know!" I screamed, tearing out a small tree from beside me and launching it towards another. The sound of the splintering and shattering wood was the only thing I could hear now. There were no footsteps, no one was breathing, there was no thunder, not even any raindrops now. Everything had stopped. Kachiri and Jasper stood there shocked by my outburst.

I didn't mean to take my anguish out on them both. They were just being realistic, trying to take our journey one step at a time. But I was frustrated that they couldn't embrace one ounce of hope. Why couldn't they just _pretend _to have faith in what I had seen? Didn't they realise that I was practically drowning in their pessimism? I couldn't function like this!

It was the same reason why I couldn't be around Bella while she was carrying Ness. No matter how much I told Edward that it would be alright, he didn't believe me. It got so severe that eventually I didn't even believe myself. I was depressed and I just did not feel like me anymore. I didn't want to get back to that state… It felt like I've only just recovered from it.

I remembered something from many years ago, shortly after Jasper and I had first joined our family. I had caught a vision of Edward writing in one of his journals. It meant the world to me at the time, but now it felt as though it was taunting me.

_Alice is the very essence of hope itself, as if it runs through every inch of her body. With Alice around we have nothing to fear, because with Alice around there is always hope, _he wrote.

That's how everyone see's me – as 'Little Bubbly Alice'. But they don't understand what happens when my optimism is ripped away from me. It takes away my very essence. I need hope to function, to survive even.

"Perhaps we should take a break for a while?" Kachiri spoke softly, while Jasper just looked at me, concern taking over his darkening features. "It will give us all time to hunt…" Kachiri continued. "That should refresh us all. We can start again later."

"That sounds like a good idea." Jasper replied, though his eyes did not move from mine. "Meet us back in this spot once you have finished, and we'll do the same."

Kachiri nodded and smiled at me before she sped away to find her meal.

Neither Jasper nor I moved. Nor did we talk. I stood there looking at him, and he stood there looking at me. His expression was one of distress, he was worried for me. I didn't know what I looked like or what he was seeing. I just felt… _tired. _I felt like giving up. For the first time in my existence I actually felt my age…

"Alice," He breathed. "Are you alright?"

I shook my head slightly. "I can't do this Jasper… I'm not strong enough."

He moved to my side, placing one of his hands on the top of my arm.

"It's just too _hard._" I said, though my lips barely moved.

He sighed, trying to find anyway to comfort me. "Remember when Bella was still pregnant and we thought the wolves might plan an attack on us while we hunted?"

I nodded.

"Carlisle asked you to find the safest route because it would be the one where I future didn't… disappear. Well, can't you do that, but instead of avoiding that future – run towards it?"

But he didn't understand. "Jasper, in that occasion there were hundreds of routes that lead to safety, but only a couple that led to danger. Therefore, easy work for me. But in this situation there are thousands – if not more – roads that will lead no where, and only one that will take us to the hybrid. Therefore… _not _an easy job for me!" I practically spat back at him.

Did he deserve it? No, not at all.

Did I feel like rightly apologising? No. I didn't feel like doing anything anymore. All I wanted to do was to go home and accept the coming defeat _with_ my family. And yet, the vision of our miraculous recovery still hovered behind the one of us dying… still possible… just not probable.

I growled harshly and ran away from Jasper. He didn't try to come after me, but he would shortly.

I wasn't really running away from Jasper, I was trying to run away from the version of me that I hated: The downbeat, downhearted, negative, unenthusiastic Alice. I had spent a week in her presence… and I didn't want to be with her anymore!

I was running fast, battering the various trees, twigs and shrubs out of my way instead of letting them brush against my hard skin. I finally emerged from the jungle's edge, skidding to a stop by the side of the majestic river. I looked up towards the clear night's sky and gasped. The clouds were gone and the moon was full, lighting up the rainforest so much that it made it look like day. I could see millions of twinkling stars – each of them powerful and great, no matter how small they looked.

I felt my body falling to the ground before I told it to, but I managed to dignify my landing – making it look as though I was just sitting down with crossed legs. I tilted my head back, just keeping my eyes on the sky above.

I could hear his gentle footsteps then. He was not running, he was just walking. I watched him in my peripheral vision as he sat down beside me.

"Alice… I'm…" He began.

"You know, I almost forgot that there's still beauty in the world… it took me by surprise really. I don't think I've actually seen _anything_ for the last week."

"Talk to me Alice." He begged.

"Everything is just wrong, Jasper! Nothing feels right anymore! And you know what the worst bit is? Sometimes I pretend that I'm there, back home." I laughed to myself ironically. "But it doesn't matter… I can read with Carlisle, and I can worry with Esme; I can syke myself up with Emmett and I can seethe with Rosalie; I can share Edward's anxiety and deep love at the same time and I can duck and dive with Bella as she learns how to fight. I can do all of those things as much as I like, but it doesn't count towards anything because it all ends there! But our family doesn't!" My breath stuttered as I inhaled. "I can't see _her _Jasper. Our beautiful niece. The most fragile and vulnerable member of our family… and I can't _see_ her." My eyes went dry and I knew I couldn't keep it in anymore. It felt good to finally admit it – aloud and to myself. I leant into Jasper's shoulder and sobbed tearless cries. "I miss her so much, and I don't even know if I will ever see her again. I'm not used to it Jasper! I always find a way to make myself feel better. But I can't now. It's impossible. And I hate myself for not being able to do anything! And that's not like me! But I'm not me anymore, am I? I'm a nomad. I'm not _me_ anymore!"

"Alice, don't say th-"

"I wish it didn't affect me this way…" I sighed, hiding my face. "I wish I could be as strong as you, Jasper."

He scoffed harshly once. "Alice… you are the strongest of us all. I can't even conceive the idea of how difficult it was to see the things you have seen over the last two weeks and still have the vigour to fight them, or to still see the good in our future even when it looks so bleak." He sighed. "I wish I could, I've been trying so hard to feed off your hope, but it has been dwindling the last few days. And I feel like our energy is disappearing along with it. You say you can't live without your hope… well, neither can I."

I looked up from his shoulder. "I haven't felt like my self, Jasper. I'm not used to being in this kind of situation where I can't find a way out. I feel like I've lost my self and I don't know if I can ever find my way back to how I used to be."

"Alice… I know how you are feeling… literally." He laughed. "But it appears as though _you _do not know how you are truly feeling." He stroked the side of my face, tucking a bit of hair behind my ear. "There is still hope inside you Alice Cullen, it has emanated from you ever since the first time we met. And there is not a single part of my mind that doubts that it will always will."

And then everything stopped, my breathing, my worries, my fears. I felt like slapping myself around the face for feeling how I've been feeling the last seven days. Those words were exactly what I needed to hear, and as usual it was Jasper who delivered them.

_With Alice around we have nothing to fear, because with Alice around there is always hope, _I reminded was no need to worry now, because despite my belief, the real Alice had never really left.

"Thank you, Jasper." I whispered, feeling a smile finally appear on my face.

I even managed a giggle as Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist. I turned to face him, moulding my body against his. He was the only being on this planet that had the ability to make me forget about everything… and it felt good to let him. But one thing I would never forget would be who I am…

I am Alice Cullen: Daughter, sister, aunt and wife.


	7. Pushing Forward

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: Ahh I'm really unsure about this chapter… no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get it how I wanted it. Stick with me though! Love you all **__**Ellie xx)**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Pushing Forwards**_

We spent hours under the stars, just being _us _again. It was nice having a break, not worrying, not looking ahead, and not even thinking.

But I wasn't able to ignore the vision of someone interrupting our special moment. Kachiri was getting fed up of waiting for us. Apparently she had returned to our meeting spot over an hour ago. Now she was heading this way.

I smiled and kissed Jasper on the side of his jaw before jumping up and heading to the backpack that he had been carrying for the last couple of weeks. I put on my replacement clothes and threw Jasper's to him.

"Already?" He grinned.

"Already." I repeated.

I threw both of our old clothes, along with the bag, into a pile of dry leaves and sticks. I immediately found two pebbles which I grinded together, just watching as the flickering flames fell onto the pile. I spat some of my venom onto it – the flammable liquid made the small fire soar. We didn't need to leave any evidence behind.

"Um… nice." Jasper mocked from behind me.

I nudged him playfully in the ribs and turned to wait for Kachiri.

I saw her newly filled blood red eyes before I saw the rest of her as she stepped from the trees into the early morning sunlight. She didn't ask anything… she just looked at us questioningly.

"Sorry, Kachiri… Jasper and I just had to talk about something." I apologised.

"Has a path cleared for us yet, Alice?" She asked quietly, getting us back on track.

"I haven't seen anything." I admitted.

She grimaced uncomfortably, possibly believing that she had upset me.

"But it doesn't mean that I won't." I smiled, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

* * *

The following week went slowly. Despite my regenerated attitude, we still weren't getting any closer to finding what we needed. The rainforest was just too large. There were just too many paths that we could take… none of them lead to the hybrid.

We had been running for the last eight days… we hadn't stopped. I had no idea where we were, not even which country we were in. Kachiri kept reassuring me that she did.

Apart from that we hardly spoke. We were all just waiting… waiting for something to happen. Waiting for _me_ to see something. I sighed heavily and started to slow to a jog. Then a walk. And then finally came to a stop.

Kachiri and Jasper turned their heads and both halted simultaneously about seventy yards in front of me.

"This isn't working." I groaned.

My two companions were by my side in half a second. Jasper looked concerned, thinking that I had fallen back into my state of depression. But I hadn't, I was just… _bored._

"I was just thinking that too…" Kachiri began, looking clearly nervous. "Perhaps we should not move until we know where to go… for all we know we could be running away from the hybrid. Perhaps we should just wait… it will be more peaceful that way – easier for you?" She spoke quickly, wanting to get her point out before someone stopped her.

"It doesn't work like that though, Kachiri." Jasper defended. "In order for Alice to see the future, decisions have to be made. If we don't move then we won't decide anything and if we don't decide anything then we won't find anything…"

"Jasper!" I interrupted, holding out my hand to stop him. "Maybe Kachiri is right. Let's face it… what we're doing is not working…" I spoke to both of them now. "We need to reassess our plan of attack." My voice was high and bouncy… more animated than it had been in weeks.

I saw Jasper smile widely in my peripheral vision.

"Tell us everything Alice." Kachiri pressed, stepping forwards in anticipation. "Everything you have seen. Perhaps Jasper and I will be able to make sense of some things that you were unable to. Isn't that what they say? Three minds are better than one?" She smiled.

I smiled in return, closing my eyes to concentrate. I laughed internally. If this were taking place at home Carlisle would have asked us to sit. It always came naturally to him – to act human even when there was no need. But there was no need to be civilised here, though it felt strange not to conform to our usual pretence.

"It all started when Carlisle asked me whether you and your sisters would witness for us. Almost immediately after he spoke your names I had a vision of the rainforest. Jasper was by my side and you were in front of us. And then, before I could even make sense of it, it was gone. It just vanished, in a similar way to when Renesmee becomes involved in a vision. I knew it was important, so Jasper and I left – making sure Edward wouldn't see it. It wasn't until we were alone that I came to the conclusion that the reason I couldn't see anything was because whoever it was is similar to Renesmee. That they were a hybrid too. The next day I had another, but this time we weren't alone – there were more than the three of us. You and Jasper were on my left, the blind spot was behind me and then to my right was someone else… nobody I recognised…" My voice drifted off into nothing.

"What did they look like?" Kachiri asked. "Are they from here? Are they even one of us?"

I pressed my eyes tighter. The vision of this immortal had only lasted for a second at best. I focussed closely on her face. "Female, young, braided black hair, olive skin…"

"South American then. Peru? Chile? Argentina?" Kachiri questioned.

"She was dressed in animal skin…" I continued. "... burgundy eyes..." They were unique infact, I had never seen an iris of that shade. But it _was _similar to Jasper's had been when he first tried animal blood. So I wondered if it was due to a diet of both animal and humans... she seems to be quite the opportunist.

"And what has she got to do with the hybrid?" Jasper asked.

"… She's looking at it. She's worried for them. Her face is the epitome of concern."

"She's in their coven? A mate, perhaps?" Jasper asked.

"Perfect!" Kachiri exploded with excitement, making my eyes flash open. "That means that they'll be together!" She turned to me, her eyes bulging with anticipation.

There was a small pause as I took a shallow intake of breath. "I've been searching for the wrong person." I concluded.

Jasper turned his head to me slowly. "Will you be able to find her Alice?" He asked, knowing too well how Jacob and Nessie always distorted my visions, even if they weren't what I was looking for.

I sighed, turning back to Kachiri. "It's not going to be simple, but it will be a lot easier than searching for something I can't see. The fact that I don't actually _know_ her doesn't exactly help, but we can try!" I smiled.

I felt completely refreshed, like we had rewound time, like we had started again. But this time we were on the right track.

I closed my eyes, letting the image of the unknown female flood my sight. I forced to image to continue, I wanted to follow the progression of our journey. It was hard and uncomfortable to watch… all I wanted to do was turn my head and look at the hybrid, but every time my curiosity got the best of me it disappeared and I had to start again.

Many images flittered in my mind, but annoyingly we were in all of them. I couldn't see anything up until of race back to Forks. But they were patchy and disorientated – as many of my visions were nowadays – meaning I couldn't rely on them to become true at all.

I moaned. "All I can see is her possible future with us. Nothing that could lead us to her."

"The fact that you _do _see her with us is promising enough in itself isn't it?" Jasper soothed.

"But it has always been a _possibility… _that's why I've seen it before and why I can see it now… because it is a _possibility. _It's just been a very small possibility."

"Look at it anyway." Kachiri said persuasively. "The answers we're looking for might be in our future as well as hers."

I closed my eyes again but was greeted with a petrifying sight. My body whole body coiled and hissed, flying backwards, pressing itself into a trunk of tree. The faces looking back at me were daunting, absolutely set on our destruction… apart from two. Marcus looked his usual self, but the typically cunning Aro looked scared, his eyes glued on mine as if he was infiltrating every area of my mind and soul even though he stood fifty yards away.

"Alice!" Jasper's voice cried. "Alice what is it? What did you see?"

"It just… took me by surprise." I breathed, climbing down, but with my eyes still shut. "I'm at the clearing. Everyone is still alive. We're with them…" I smiled.

_"This is Huilen… and her nephew Nahuel." _The words that were being spoken belonged to me.

"Nephew…" I gasped aloud. "Huilen… Nahuel… Nahuel – the one I can't see."

Jasper's laugh rang out loud as he kissed the side of my head. "We know their names! That'll play in our favour when we actually find them!"

_"A century and a half ago… my people… Mapuche… My sister… Pire… she loved the child inside her… when he grew strong… broke her bones… she loved him still." _The olive skinned Huilen declared to the army in front of her as I repeated her words to Jasper and Kachiri.

The words were so distant, as though they would take place in a million years from now. So diluted, so week, but rang so true. So familiar.

_"I couldn't save her…died quickly… begging… I would care for her Nahuel… dying wish… I agreed." _She continued. _"He bit me though… crawled away… to die… but he found me… when the pain ended… curled against my side, sleeping."_

_"We have never travelled so far… Nahuel wished to see the child here..." _And then she was gone.

I shook my head and my eyes peeked open. "That's all I can see." I admitted. "It all goes black after that."

"But we've learnt so much!" Kachiri grinned.

"He'll be over a hundred years old! That's more than old enough to verify our case." Jasper began.

"And they are related! So there is no doubt that if we find her then we will find the hybrid. And that when we do find them that he will want to come with us!" Kachiri continued.

"He wants to fight for our niece just as much as we do!" Jasper whispered gently.

"And most importantly, you found out that she used to be a member of the Mapuche tribe. I know where that is Alice. It was the place where my sisters and I found that body, of the young pale skinned girl with all the interesting scents around her. Scents that I know… scents that I remember. If we catch on to anything then I'll recognise it immediately."

"Now we know this, Alice – now _you _know it – try looking for her again. Where _are_ they?" Jasper asked.

He was right. It was always so much easier to find the future of people that I knew. But I knew enough of this Huilen to find her now.

I took a deep breath, steadying my mind as Jasper and Kachiri watched me intently.

It was dark, as I expected. I tried to look past it, past the darkness. I had tried this with Bella and Ness before - the time Charlie came round for the first time. I could just about see Bella by looking around the blind spot situated in her arms, absorbing the light in her future. I remember how I told her to stay still, because every time she moved, I lost her in a sea of blur.

But this was different. All I could see was flashes of Huilen's face… nothing but expressions. She wasn't still and she was far too involved with her nephew.

"It's not working!" I groaned. "I can't see anything. She's always too close to him."

"We might just have to wait for a while, Alice… Don't worry. Let's face it – the easiest way for you to see her is when she is away from her nephew. So we'll just have to wait till she decides to leave him… Perhaps when he's asleep?" Jasper reassured.

"It makes sense. So what do we do now?" I asked both of them.

"We wait, until you see something clearly?" Kachiri suggested.

"We wait here?" I wondered.

Jasper shook his head. "I don't know… We have a week to find her if we want to get back to Forks in time. I don't think we have enough time to just sit here and _wait._"

_A week_… is that really all we had? We hadn't accomplished anything yet. And despite all we had uncovered, we were still no closer to actually finding her.

I inhaled deeply. "We wait here until tonight. We'll see if I can see her future away from the hybrid… If I can't then we move on."

Jasper nodded and Kachiri smiled and I sat down… hoping and waiting.

* * *

The night came and went quickly. I watched the morning sunlight creeping along the ground until it reached us.

_Damn it. _"Let's go then." I said, jumping up enthusiastically. I closed my eyes, pretending that something was leading us in a certain direction. I ran off in a random direction and heard their almost silent footsteps following me.

Three days we ran for, not going anywhere specific… just running. I was getting worried now. Our time was ticking away with every step that we took. We only had four days left to find them if we wanted to get back home before our family was annihilated. And for some reason it appeared as though the universe believed that I needed to be reminded of this…

I was running fast, unnecessarily fast, but I wasn't aware of the scenery around me. I was back in Volterra, watching Aro address his minions which were now all gathered before him.

"_You all know what is expected of you, you all know who are targets are… you know the ones that need to be punished for this insolence. I have no doubt that you will succeed in this task." _He declared in a similar manner to a dictator rallying his army.

The team of thirty two did nothing but smile as they silently turned and began their slow procession towards my family.

"Alice!" Jasper's voice echoed. "Alice! Stop!"

I did as his voice asked and stopped my feet from moving, though I couldn't exactly feel them… I was numb.

"Alice, the rainforest is diminishing enough without your help." He nodded behind me to a path of flattened trees. I just about managed to see Kachiri's disapproving face before I turned back to Jasper.

"They're leaving Jasper…" I breathed, hardly moving my lips. "They are leaving and _we_ haven't done anything." I sobbed.

Jasper reached out his hand and held mine in his, stroking it with his thumb. "But we will, Alice."

His words echoed in my mind, just reverberating off the walls in my head. The energy and honesty behind them made it feel like links in my mind were being joined, like connections were being made.

I watched the youthful and lean immortal spring through the night, tracking a jungle cat. I watched the decisions that she would make – whether she would stick to the trees above or run on the ground below, whether she would break its neck first as she would with humans or go in straight for the jugular…What she would do afterwards, carry on or return to a place which hid her from my extra sight.

"She's decided to go hunting." I exhaled.

"What?" Kachiri bellowed. "When?"

"Tonight." I smiled. "She must have just decided."

"Where?" Jasper almost growled.

"Close." I replied, recognising the area that we had happened to have passed through a few hours ago.

"How long do we have?" Kachiri asked, speaking quickly.

I examined the depth of the night's sky closely. "Four, maybe five hours." I grinned. "We'll get there with time to spare." I added, already sprinting of in the direction that we had just come from.

I could feel the energy and electricity buzzing in the air around us. We were like three super cars revving their engines. We were all smiling, we were all optimistic… We were all looking forward to getting back to our friends and family.

The sun was just setting behind the peaks of the trees when we arrived to the spot I had seen – the journey back to it went a lot quicker than the journey from it. We spread ourselves around the area, making sure we avoided the path that she would take in. If she caught our scent then she would run. She would come from the south so I stood east, Jasper north and Kachiri west. We waited in the densely packed trees unable to be seen from below.

The next two hours passed gradually. The adrenaline gushing through the three of us kept us on the edge. We were very aware of every sound, every scent, every tiny movement… everything.

I kept my mind open, waiting to see Huilen's immediate future. I gave the signal when I did. She was taking the exact steps that she had planned, found the animal that I had seen her feed from and was currently following it through the forest, directly beside us.

The burst of fresh blood got all of our attention. We heard the rip of teeth into warm fur and flesh, the sound of slurping blood and the thud as she tumbled to the ground with her meal.

And then we saw her. She landed right in the centre of our tight circle. Seeing her for real for the first time sparked a fire within me as well as a thousand different visions. I had seen them before… I had seen them every day for the last three and a half weeks. But now they were going… disappearing… vanishing forever… no longer a possibility… no longer inevitability. Yes, the Volturi would come; yes, there still would be death... but my family and our friends would be safe… Considering the majority of my future was now clouded by darkness, it looked completely certain… but by no means easy.

I snapped out of it just in time to see Kachiri and Jasper jump from the boughs they were standing on and land only a few yards away from Huilen.

Her fresh burgundy eyes looked up as she dropped the animal.

"She's going to run." I whispered.

She snapped her head towards me – taken by surprise. Her eyes were darting around her, flickering between the three of us.

"Huilen…" Kachiri's voice spoke softly, with a thick accent. "Necesitamos su ayuda." _We need your help._

She said nothing. She just sped away, back the way she came. We followed her, of course, begging all the while that she stopped to listen to our story. She was fast. Faster than even Edward. We couldn't catch her. She kept pushing and pushing, extending the distance between us. We could see her approaching the river, but instead of jumping over it she dived into it.

"She's trying to hide her scent." Kachiri worried.

"Alice, where is she heading?" Jasper asked, a hint of smugness in his tone.

I just smiled widely and ran west along the river bank.

"We're so close! She's leading us right to him!" I called over my shoulder.

It didn't take long before her scent crossed my path heading south again. She wasn't in our sight anymore, but it didn't matter. Her scent was fresh, only a few seconds old. She might as well have left a trail of breadcrumbs. However, I was thankful for it, for every step we took, the more and more our future weakened. In a few minutes I wouldn't be able to follow her through my visions.

I looked at the scene around me with a deep sense of poignancy. Kachiri was ahead of me and Jasper was by my side. The vibrant green trees were flashing by, emerald now that the sun had set. This was the first clue I had seen, the first image that had given me hope when this whole debacle started… Now I was just waiting for it to go black.

We came across a small hut; it was covered in her scent, as well as another. The scent was sweet, but mellowed with the hint of moss and earth. It reminded me so much of Renesmee - the most beautiful scent of blood, but you did not want it… you just appreciated it.

We paused for a few seconds trying to find the freshest scent.

"This way!" Kachiri yelled. We were already following her before she finished.

"Nahuel!" A foreign voice screamed. "Más aprisa!" She was telling him to go quicker. He was not a fast as her… he was slowing her down… we would catch them.

I embraced the darkness in my head. I let it swarm my body and my mind. It was peaceful, it was _liberating_… It was imminent.

"Huilen!" A male voice rang like chimes only a few yards ahead of us, though you could not ignore the concern in it.

Kachiri stopped in front of me, as did Jasper who was now flanking her left. I didn't know why they stopped, but I could hazard a good guess. I was almost scared to step around Kachiri's tall body, but at the same time I wanted to do nothing more…

Slowly and deliberately I moved to Kachiri's right side staring into the determined and fierce eyes of the crouching Huilen and the worried, light brown eyes belonging to her nephew.


	8. Beautifully Blind

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: Ahhhh I'm sorry! This chapter has taken so long to write! Got a bit stuck with it, and then got distracted with many work related things and then fanfiction went all bizarre for a week and a half and wouldn't let many people post anything... Anyway, I won't delay you all any longer… here's chapter 8. Ellie xx)**_

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_**Beautifully Blind**_

He was truly beautiful. His face was immaculately symmetrical, but his features were soft, with warm eyes making him appear wonderfully approachable. His olive toned skin was extremely similar to the immortal standing protectively in front of him, though his was flushed at his cheeks. He was tall and had a similar physique to Jasper, though the difference in their _durability_ was obvious. Nahuel's skin was supple with no hint of the solidity that came hand in hand for our kind. His shoulders were raising and his heart was beating fast. I wondered whether it was because he had fled his home in a hurry, or if he was anxious about our small confrontation. He was standing behind his aunt, though it was obvious he did not want to be there. She was holding him there, both of her hands reaching behind her making sure her nephew would not step forwards into our direct path – that we would have to get through her if we did actually intend to get to him.

She had obviously stopped – her instinct to protect her nephew had overridden her want to get away and her nephew's tie to her had stopped him from continuing alone. They both stood there, both willing to fight for the other.

Neither Jasper nor Kachiri were mimicking their stances. I was sure that Jasper was controlling the emotions around him, making sure that this would not lead to any form of confrontation. Kachiri stood in the middle of us both, her face completely in shock. If Renesmee was anything to go by then Nahuel must share similar features to his own father – and therefore Kachiri's former friend. I wondered if she felt as though she was looking at him again for the first time in hundreds of years.

I however, well I couldn't see anything now. I had no idea what was going to happen to any of us. I should have been concerned – not for our safety, but because we may end up having to use force to get our own way. But I did not feel this way… I felt completely and utterly ecstatic! I couldn't help but allow my face to form a smile. A small chuckle even escaped my lips.

Both pairs of eyes that were concentrating so hard on Jasper's face flashed to mine.

"I can't believe it." I breathed. "We did it. We actually did it Jasper." I said, tuning my head to him now.

Huilen growled viciously, her eyes were wild with confusion and worry, flickering in all directions. "Qué? Qué usted quiere?" She hissed. "What do you want from us?"

I smiled again, now at her, and took a conscious step forward. "Huilen…"

She stepped back hastily - three times the distance that I had progressed - pushing Nahuel with her. "How do you know my name?" She spoke in a strangely accented English. "I have never met you before in my existence."

"I know your name because I know you, Huilen. It is true that we have never met, but we were destined to meet. You are not new to this life, so you must know that there are members of our kind who hold exceptional abilities?"

She paused, still unsure, but nodded in reply.

"I can see the future, Huilen. That is how we found you, because I knew where you would be."

Her dark eyebrows started to close together, denting her forehead.

"… But your nephew, Nahuel… I cannot see him or his future, nor can I see any of our futures now we are involved with him. He's a very special being."

"I do not understand." She replied.

"We know that you want to protect him." Jasper said softly. "We know that he is an extremely important part of your life, and that you would do anything for him. We should know." He smiled. "We have a niece of our own you see."

Nahuel's eyes opened wide. His mouth parted slightly. "A niece?" His voice rang like a thousand grand bells though he spoke as softly as feather falling through the wind.

"Nahuel!" Huilen warned. "No es seguro!"

He ignored her warning, raising a hand to stop her talking. "You know who I am…" He pointed his chin towards me. "Then do you know _what_ I am?"

I nodded. "As Jasper said, we have our own."

"Then your niece is a vampire-human hybrid, like me?" He asked.

Hearing him say it nearly brought my stone frame crashing down to the earth. Instead, I just nodded again. "My brother – though _we _are not related by blood – impregnated a human. And our wonderful niece was born. Her name is Renesmee, and - "

"And what has this got to do with us?" Huilen chipped in harshly.

"You have worked hard to keep your identity a secret, and we appreciate that, but we need your help." Kachiri said sympathetically.

"The Volturi have found out about our niece. They were told that she is an immortal child – though she is not, of course. They are coming for her, coming for all my family, with no intention of stopping to find that they are wrong. But we have more on our side then they realise. However, it will not be enough. They will find any excuse that they need to." I stepped closer to them, only a few steps away from them now. "We need you to help us, because you are the only people who could save us, you are the only people who can give them no more excuses."

Huilen scoffed roughly. "You want us to go with you? To face the Volturi? After a century and a half of hiding, of protecting the only thing I hold precious to me? You want me to walk him to the beasts who would surely take him from me?"

I did not understand her disapproval. As soon as we found her our future became clear. By finding them we had selected the one and only path to our salvation… but Huilen was adamant that she would not come with us… and I didn't see how we were going to persuade her otherwise. "You will be safe!" I begged. "We have great power on our sides. With your testimony they will not even attack!"

"Our… testimony?" Nahuel asked, hesitantly.

"Alice has seen that the final reason the Volturi will use – the only excuse that they will have left – is that they can not trust what Renesmee will become. That by letting her live, they will be putting our entire species in danger of being exposed."

"But that is untrue!" Nahuel bellowed.

I exhaled. "We know." And we did know now. Looking at him was like looking at Nessie's future. I hardly had time to understand what his existence meant for her. All the worrying over what would happen to her. The darkest side of me honestly thought that her accelerated growth would lead to nothing but an early grave. But she would live forever – as long as we would – forever a youthful being, able to fit in to society more easily than we ever could.

"So you need me to show them what she will become? That she does not pose a threat of exposure." He assumed.

I nodded.

"No. Absolutely not." Huilen roared.

"Huilen!" Nahuel silenced. "You heard what this Alice has said. If we go with them then we will save everyone, and no one will be harmed… but if we don't…" He turned to me. "Then your family will die, Alice? Your niece, Renesmee, will die?"

"As well as their friends who have agreed to help them." Kachiri sighed, looking at her feet. "My sisters, for one."

"I'm very sorry." Huilen said honestly. "But it has nothing to do with us." She moaned. "Nahuel grew quickly. Perhaps if you kept away from them for long enough then you will have no problem."

"She's only a few months old." Jasper highlighted. "Perhaps the appearance of a five year old – though she may have grown more since the time we have been away… We would all be running for a long time. An impossible task as I'm sure you know all too well."

"She is just a child, Huilen!" Nahuel cried.

"Please…" I begged. "Think back to what you would have done to protect Nahuel when he was that age, when he was unable to protect himself."

"I would have done anything." She spoke strongly, her eyes wide with determination. "And I still will. Which is the exact reason that I cannot let him help you. I will not let him put his life in danger."

"But we will not be in danger!" Nahuel screamed, taking me by complete surprise… I was just about to say the same thing. "Think about it Huilen!" He continued. "These people will return to fight for their family, but if what I have heard about this Volturi is correct then they will not let someone with Alice's ability die at their hands."

I swallowed the ball that had become stuck in my throat as Nahuel continued on his rant.

"Their leader, he will read her thoughts, he will see where we are, and he will find us if he wishes too. Would you rather face your enemy head on, or have to watch your back for the next millennia?"

Huilen's eyes looked painfully dry. An obvious sheen of dried venom was covering them. She blinked it away and slowly moved her head between Nahuel and the three of us. "I'm sorry Nahuel, but it would be going against everything that I promised your mother."

Nobody spoke then. Nobody had anything more to say. Not for now anyway. I didn't know what to do. I was completely clueless.

Huilen exhaled loudly and turned her back on us, stepping away slowly, no faster than a human walking briskly. But Nahuel did not follow her as I expected.

He turned back to us, wiping a tear from his right eye with the back of his hand. "I owe her so much." He said after a while. "I owe her my life, and more. It hurts me so much to upset her like this. But _this_ is… unbearable. The idea of such a young child being hunted down and persecuted – _exterminated_ – when there is no need… " He sighed and ran his hands over his hair. He was silent for a minute, perhaps longer. His lips parted every now and again as if he were about to speak. He continually licked his lips as his eyes flickered at an image in his mind. "How long do we have?" He whispered finally.

"A week." Jasper said.

Nahuel's sharp intake of breath was not missed by any of us.

"A week to get where?" He asked.

"North-West America." I answered. "Seven thousand miles."

His forehead creased, obviously trying to calculate how long it would take him. "I will go and speak to her now then." He smiled ironically and then ran off following the path that Huilen had just made in her unhurried exit.

I wanted to follow him. I wanted to pick him up and throw him over my shoulders, carrying him all the way to Aro. If I was honest the only thing stopping me was Jasper's hand which he had slid into mine.

"Let him speak to her, Alice" He whispered. "His words are honest. He has no intention of deceiving us… nor does he have any intention of letting us leave without him. He's honestly worried for Renesmee. I think he feels as though it is his duty to protect her. Perhaps it is because he's finally found someone – or knows of someone – who is like him… for the first time ever, he doesn't feel _different._" He smiled. "I don't know…"

Jasper's words made everything fall into place. It was always going to be his decision that would save us. His pure heart was always there, and was always going to choose the right path, the path to our rescue – the path to the truth.

"Does your Renesmee look like Edward?" Kachiri asked all of a sudden, still staring off into the thick jungle and wearing exactly the same expression that she's had for the last few minutes.

I laughed innocently. "A spitting image."

"Though there is a lot of Bella in her too." Jasper added.

"A trait of the species then, I suppose." She breathed. "It took me by surprise. I knew we were looking for _his_ son and I had prepared my self for such… but obviously not enough." She scoffed. "Huilen stopped to stand her ground as soon as they were in our sight. I was unfazed by it, I was waiting for it… but Nahuel stopped too – not wanting to leave her, I guess – and I was suddenly thrown back in time. For all I knew I was looking directly at Joham. That was, until I saw Nauhel's warmth and softness." She sighed heavily. "Uncanny." She was silent for a few seconds before the shook her head and turned to face us finally. "So what do we do now?" Kachiri asked.

"We wait." I grinned.

"Do we have time to wait?" She added.

Not really, but I couldn't help but have faith in Nahuel. This was his destiny – I could just never see it. Besides, it should only take about five days to get home. Perhaps six if we continued at this speed. "We have time… and we have Nahuel." I smiled. "That's what matters the most."

We waited until morning. The fresh sunlight was bright and shone heavily on our small group sending a thousand beams of light bouncing off on to the trees surrounding us. Not one of us had made a sound, we had not even moved. But the soft and steady footprints heading this way had us all in motion.

"Nahuel, Huilen!" I cried, welcoming them back. "What have you decided?"

"I thought you could see the future?" Nahuel joked.

I pulled a funny face, as I would if it was Edward or Emmett who were teasing me.

"It seems that my nephew is stronger than I had ever presumed." Huilen declared, ignoring her grinning nephew. "I have never been so proud of him and have never seen anyone display so much courage. He wishes to go with you… to see the girl, to save her. But I will not let him go alone, so you will have both of us accompany you."

My breath caught in my throat and stuttered as I exhaled. "Thank you, Huilen."

"It is not me that needs to be thanked." She looked across proudly to her nephew.

She was right. This marvellous being was my knight in shining armour. I walked towards him with my arms out straight in front of me. They looked so pale and so small next to his as I wrapped them around his dimly glowing body. "There are not enough words in the world to thank you enough, Nahuel. Now I owe _you_ my family's life… and more."

"We have six days to get home, Alice. I suggest we leave now." Jasper said from behind me. "Kachiri, which way is the quickest way to the Pacific?"

Jasper was apparently planning to head home straight up the west coast. The easiest and most direct route, we would have to find a car as soon as we got to California though.

"Due west from here. A few hours perhaps..." She looked over to Nahuel. "Longer maybe."

I didn't know what issues Nahuel would present in respect of his speed. He had slowed down Huilen while we were chasing them, but he did not seem too fazed by our tight schedule when we briefly discussed it earlier. I tired not to worry, but words that I had heard before, but had not yet been said reverberated in my mind.

"_But we can't stop!" _My voice cried to Jasper_ "We don't have enough time!" _I remembered the frustration I felt just _seeing_ the vision and unfortunately I had a feeling it would still happen.

We were all running despite this, though we were all much slower than I had hoped. Forty, maybe pushing fifty miles an hour. The awkwardness was hanging over us, but despite this nobody said anything. The only sound accompanying us was Nahuel's hard breathing and rapid heart.

Huilen ran along side Kachiri ahead of us as they both had an immaculate knowledge of the area. But I also suspected that Huilen saw a lot of herself in Kachiri and found comfort with that.

"Alice…" Jasper whispered quietly two and a half hours into our journey home. "This is going to happen, isn't it? The future you have seen? It will happen?"

"You know I can't really see anything now Jasper…" I tried to explain, though I didn't really mind at the moment because my lack of vision was due to the addition of the one thing we have fought to find.

"I need to know Alice…" He spoke seriously. "I need to know whether I am letting you return to our family, or letting you run straight in to a trap." I saw his eyes flash towards me, though his face remained still, making sure our fellow group members were still unaware of our conversation. "If there is any sign of doubt then I'm stopping you here. Kachiri will just have to take Nahuel and Huilen to Forks her self."

I laughed to myself. "Like I'd actually tell you if there was."

But he wasn't laughing. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Jazz… I can't see anything anymore… but I have _already_ seen that our family will be safe… that the Volturi will leave with their tails between their legs." I tried to justify.

"And you are sure that their reason to do so will be because we show them Nahuel?"

"Nothing else would explain it. Nothing else would explain the things I have seen. The decision to find him in the first place and their decision to join us forged our path… just because I can't see anything _now _doesn't mean that it won't happen."

"I'll never trust anyone as much as I trust you, Alice. So don't make me a fool." He smiled dryly.

I grinned widely. "We're going to beat them, Jasper." I nodded my head towards Nahuel, also running in front of us. "He's going to beat them."

Kachiri and Huilen began a discussion between the two of them, obviously something that Nahuel did not want to be a part of, so he dropped back and ran along side me and Jasper.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked.

"They are talking about Joham." He replied bitterly.

"Your father." I added, understandingly.

Nahuel scoffed. "Define father."

Both Jasper and I smiled supportively. We both knew very well that it is not just similar genes and DNA that makes a man a father.

"Tell me, before – when you spoke of your brother – you said that he is not a biological sibling… then why do you refer to him as such?"

"Because that is how we see him." I answered simply. "He is a part of our family."

"Your family?" He questioned. "Yes, you mentioned that before as well. Do you mean the two of you, your brother and Renesmee? Or are there are more of you?"

"Carlisle is _our _father." Jasper chipped in. "He knows Kachiri and her two sisters well. He turned our mother, Esme and our siblings."

"Siblings?" He asked, emphasising the plural.

Jasper nodded. "Edward, Bella, Emmett and Rosalie."

"Your family." It was not a query – just a statement.

Jasper's soft expression changed into one of confusion as he studied Nahuel's emotions. I wondered what had sparked the apparent change.

"What is it that you are regretting, Nahuel?" Jasper asked him gently.

Nahuel looked at Jasper unsurely.

I laughed. "Jasper's gift is empathy. He knows how you are feeling."

Nahuel's eyes bulged in surprise.

"You're very conflicted all of a sudden, feeling many things, though regret seems to be the greatest." Jasper concluded.

Nahuel was silent for a few moments – well, as silent as he could be.

"I have some sisters of my own." He finally admitted. "Three in fact."

I couldn't stop my mouth from falling open.

"I don't know where they are. They roam with Joham. They decided to stay with him."

"What do you mean by 'they decided'? He gave them an option?" I asked, completely shocked by this new revelation. Our little Renesmee was not unique _at all. _Apparently Joham really had learned to control himself well enough to breed his small army of hybrids.

"He gave us all an option. But unlike me, they didn't have a wonderful aunt to remind them of what a monster he is." He spoke passionately.

Both Kachiri and Huilen's heads looked back towards us, both very much aware of what Nahuel was saying.

He ignored their glances and took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Regret, you said. I regret leaving my sisters in his hands, but the only thing I feel when I think of him is hate."

"Are they the only hybrids you are aware of?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

He nodded. "Matcha, Tuia and Boro… and now Renesmee." He smiled. "Will you tell me about her?"

Both Huilen and Kachiri dropped back, only a few steps in front of us now.

"She's beautiful – so much like her mother and father." I began.

"Intelligent too." Jasper added. "Progressing, learning and growing so quickly."

"Loving and caring." I continued. "With the sweetest heart."

"And the greatest appeal."

"Sounds familiar." Huilen smiled. "Though it has been a long time since I considered Nahuel _sweet._"

An assortment of laughter rang out between all of us.

"What is her diet?" Nahuel asked. "What is _yours_? I have never seen such a shade of eyes."

"Animal, is it not?" Huilen guessed. "We sometimes feed from our fellow predators, especially in areas where a human is hard to come across."

"And Renesmee?" Nahuel added.

"Carlisle tried to feed her human baby formula once. But she didn't like it at all. She used to drink donated human blood while she was a young infant, but she soon learnt to hunt with us."

"We have human acquaintances, so she had to get used to it really. She can resist human blood as well as the rest of us can." Jasper said.

Huilen scoffed. "A family, human friends, donated blood, a voluntary animal diet and a young hybrid child roaming around… not quite the conventional coven."

"And it is that which has got us all in this trouble." Jasper sighed.

"Though we wouldn't change it for the world." I almost sang.

The whole atmosphere changed, uplifting us all. It was only a few more hours before I picked up the salty scent of the Pacific Ocean. We were making good time.

We ran north along the coast for a while, ensuring we found a secluded spot, but it didn't take too long. The light rocky cliffs were the beginning of our direct route home.

Kachiri smiled and sprinted to the edge, wasting no time at all. She sprang into the air and then disappeared beyond it, leaving only a sound of a soft splash in her wake.

I held back, waiting for Huilen and Nahuel to jump before me, but they both came to a sudden stop.

"Wait!" Nahuel called, but too late for Kachiri to hear. He rotated quickly, facing me and Jasper. "How long are we swimming for?"

"It'll be a four, maybe even a five day swim." I apologised. What was he worried about, the lack of entertainment? Maybe he hadn't fed in a while?

"We're swimming all the way to California?" He gasped.

"We can feed as soon as we get there if that's what you're concerned about." I soothed.

"It's not the food he's worrying about." Huilen sighed.

"I don't understand." I questioned.

"I'm sorry Alice. I thought you might have had something waiting here for us." Nahuel said.

Damn my blindness! I had no idea what they were talking about! "We don't need anything. We'll just swim underwater. We won't be spotted… I promise." I protested.

"You might not be… but I will."

"Why?" I said, though I couldn't help but assume what he was going to say next.

"Because I need to breath, Alice."


	9. Surpassing Barricades

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: Sorry it's taken so long again! Ahhh I just didn't know how on earth they actually got back to America… I know it's not integral to the story line, but I think it's easy to neglect these things when you don't have to worry about writing or reading it! Haha. Oh well, **__**was probably worrying over it for no reason. On a better note, I bought the 'Twilight Saga Illustrated Guide' the other day! How good was that? The back-stories of the characters are something that has always interested me and I loved diving into that world! It's really inspired me! I'm excited for the next chapter now … better get writing it! Enjoy this one anyway. Ellie x)**_

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_**Surpassing Barricades **_

A deep growl escaped my lips before I had time to consciously react. I didn't mean to. It was just an instinctual reaction to not getting my way, just an expression of my immediate frustration.

Huilen didn't see it as such though. She threw herself in front of Nahuel, pushing him backwards slightly. I half expected Jasper to do the same, but he remained by my side, already in control of the situation.

"Are you kidding me?" I breathed softly, closing my eyes tightly.

"I don't think this is the time for joking about, Alice." Jasper said gently.

"Couldn't you have mentioned this before? Before we wasted half the day heading in a direction that would get us _nowhere?_" I was fuming now, though the better half of me knew that, truly, I was angry at myself…for not being able to see that this would be a problem… and for not even considering asking… it was my own fault.

"Alice… I'm really sorry." Nahuel said, stepping past Huilen. "I didn't know this was what you were planning. I've never left the continent before. I didn't know what we had to do. Could we just run along the coast instead of swimming? Will it take much longer?"

"Jasper? Alice?" Kachiri called from the harsh waves far below us.

"We won't be able to cross the border at the speed we've been travelling without being noticed. Neither do we have any time to forge any documents, nor the resources to _pay_ for our passage." I said quickly.

I didn't know what to do. I felt completely useless without my extra sight. Normally I wouldn't be in the slightest bit bothered by a predicament like this. I would have just searched for the path that would lead to the desired result. But when I looked now, the only thing I could see was the dark void we were all submerged in.

My head ached… literally ached. My temples were throbbing, just waiting to burst. I had seen so much in the past month – things that I had fought to find, and some that entered my vision against my will… so many premonitions and scenes… millions. I had sifted through each of them, analysing them in as much detail as possible. But now, my head was empty, like my thoughts and visions had been absorbed by a dark cloud of doom, like a black hole that generates at the end of a stars life. Even though my body could never truly tire, it was just about ready to give up. A part of me willed for my stone limbs to perish, to become the dust that I felt I should be.

"Could we just find a spot that isn't being manned?" Jasper asked carefully. It wouldn't be the first time that we've crossed a country's borders using that method, but this time was different. This time I wouldn't be able to find it.

"We would have to search on foot." I said, not hiding the strain in my voice.

"There must be a way." Nahuel cried. "It's not fair, to get all this way and not being able to do anything!"

"You're telling me…" I exhaled.

"Nahuel has done nothing wrong!" Huilen hissed. "Blood runs through his body, blood which needs to be oxygenated in order for him to survive!"

Of course she was right, and I was foolish to have not considered it.

"What's next, Alice?" Jasper exhaled roughly. I think he was trying his best not worry, because if he worried, then we would all be worried.

I really didn't know how to answer his question… I was confused beyond all recognition. Surely this was always going to happen, after all, Nahuel was never going to be able to swim along side the rest of us… so why had I seen salvation in our future? How was it ever possible?...Because there is another way. There has to be!

"Seven million people have immigrated illegally into the united states." I said, trying to rationalise with myself. "If they can do it, then it should be easy for us." I bellowed enthusiastically.

"We'll just have to play it carefully, leaving it till night fall." Kachiri added suddenly, apparently having just scaled the cliff face to join us again. I was glad she had heard the conversation and was aware of the situation. I didn't want to have to repeat it.

Huilen joined her straight away, as though she gravitated towards her.

"Better head back to the trees then. We'll start heading north as best as we can without stepping into the sun." I said sombrely, feeling lost in this foreign land.

We ran, all together, sticking together as we would until we got home, I was sure. Sticking to the trees made our journey tediously longer. We had been running for over a day. Our time was ticking away. Every step I took felt like I was running through the thickest, slimiest mud. The sound of our gentle footsteps signified ever passing second, and I couldn't help but count them. We were racing against the impending troops of the Volturi Guard now. I could just picture their sleek, calm and disciplined accent, making our erratic journey seem even more ridiculously laughable.

When night fell our pace began to deteriorate. Huilen begged Nahuel to rest, though he refused. She said he would get ill, but still he refused… until eventually his tiredness got the best of him. I had complained – as I had foreseen all of those weeks ago – and Huilen became very protective, making sure we didn't touch him. I was so close to asking Jasper to deal with her while I threw Nahuel over my shoulders and ran. But Kachiri could sense my pain as well as feeling her own anguish for her sisters. She spoke to Huilen carefully, reassuring her that we needed to keep moving. Huilen agreed, but instead of waking him she picked him up, carrying him carefully, perfectly balancing his body in her arms. She even laughed, mentioning that she hadn't done that since he was an infant.

She spoke about Nahuel for the rest of the night, how she used to care for him, how she used to worry for him, how scared she was when Joham returned hoping to leave with his prodigal son. She spoke about how they hunted while he was still young, and how she never used to be able to put him down. He slept in her arms every night for the first two months of his accelerated life – just as Renesmee slept in mine, and the arms of my family. It made me ache hearing her tales which were so similar to our own. It hurt, as though there was a piece of me missing. And there was. Seven integral pieces of my being had been missing for the last four and a half weeks.

Nahuel woke up as soon as the sun started to twinkle through the tree tops. He was annoyed that we didn't wake him, but Kachiri reminded him that now was no time to be proud. He calmed down quickly and ran with us for the rest of the day.

We got to South Columbia just before nightfall when Jasper began to panic. He was emanating it to all of us. Panic, sheer panic.

"Alice? We have time don't we? We'll get back to Forks in time?" He stuttered.

I didn't know why he asked, he had obviously already calculated our journey. We had four days to travel six thousand miles, meaning we needed to average 62 miles an hour in order to make it in time. A target that was almost ten miles an hour faster than the speed we have been travelling currently. Added to that, we would not be able to get to Panama before the sun rose, so we would have to spend the rest of the waiting there and then again when we get to the America–Mexico border… at least two days wasted.

"It'll be close." I sighed, not wanting to even think of the improbabilities. My hope was the only thing keeping me going, I just couldn't think about anything else other than the image I had seen of the Volturi turning their backs on us, and leaving.

Jasper scoffed harshly. I knew he was loosing his faith quickly. His frustration was so strong that it swamped it, making it unable to find. "Help me, Alice. I need to know. Will it be close, or will we be late?"

His words did not spark a vision, but instead relit a memory…. I had already seen something thing that might just answer his question, though I wished it wouldn't. "Before we had even left, Jasper, I had a vision of the five of us running in Forks. I didn't know who it was, but I could hear the five different footsteps following me in my vision. At the time I didn't really consider it… there were so many more things to worry about. But we were running in Forks, near our home, up to the clearing… but the Volturi were already there. Perhaps that is what will happen… We'll get there after it starts, but before it will finish…"

Jasper's eyes pressed tightly together. I knew he would hate the idea, of leaving it so late. All he wanted to do was protect his family, _our_ family.

He was going to say something – what, I didn't know – but as he was about to speak, our small troop stopped.

"It was always our destiny." Huilen said quietly, standing still suddenly, staring off in a westerly direction. "Before you even knew we existed, you knew there would be five of us returning to your home, to fight for you." She smiled. "… It was always _all_ of our destinies." She turned back to face us, her face peaceful and confident with brisk wind brushing through her braids. "And my understanding of destiny is that it will happen no matter what…"

"That's not how my visions work… the future changes with every decision made…" I interrupted.

"I'm not talking about our _future_. You're right, the future is always undecided. An unwritten masterpiece waiting to become the present… but some things were always meant to be." She continued.

It sounded bizarre hearing the words coming out of someone else's lips. The words being spoken were the type of optimistic, joyful words that usually belonged to me.

"¿Cuál es él, Huilen?" Nahuel asked. "What is it? What has changed?"

"Nothing has changed, my dear Nahuel, because this was always going to happen." She motioned for us all to join her. As I reached her proximity I followed her gaze through a small gap in the trees finally spying a selection of white objects on the Columbian coast.

"Boats?" I asked cautiously.

"If only there was a way to cross the boarder without having to wait…" She smiled. "We'll take one to Mexico and then cross the boarder at California." Huilen whistled, as though she was seeing a vision herself.

"And the American navy?" Jasper laughed. "They have satellites and radar. We'll be picked up in no time and back where we started." Jasper offered. "Attempts like that happen every day."

"It's not a problem. They're only humans after all… we'll just have a little snack." Huilen said casually.

"No." I almost roared. "There is no need for innocent people to die."

"Innocent people die every day." Nahuel moaned.

"But not at my hands!" I spat.

"Then we get a smaller boat. Small enough that we will not be detected." Jasper suggested, his hopes rising in accordance with ours. "It's not like we need the space."

"If we _do _come across any patrol boats then Alice and Jasper can hide under the water." Nahuel continued, nodding his head in agreement with Jazz. "To the humans, Kachiri, Huilen and I will just look like three immigrants trying to get by. They'll pull beside us, as I'm sure they are more than used to. Meanwhile you two will commandeer their boat. Nobody needs to die! We'll just leave them tied up in the boat we'll leave behind."

"It's worth a try." Jasper shrugged.

"We don't really have many other options" I exhaled. What I would give to be able to see if it would work.

Our course changed sharply, running directly west now. We made our way down hills and cliffs in the cover of night.

I broke into the back of a random clothes shop only a few miles from the port. I picked up clothes for Kachiri, Nahuel and Huilen that were plain, and of muted colours – definitely cheap! – But they would pass for something a local family would wear. I just got something sturdy for Jasper and myself.

We changed quickly in a dark alleyway and then made our way to the port speedily, taking advantage of the abandoned streets at this late hour.

We passed boats that were very similar to ones Carlisle and Esme had purchased which stood out obviously from the old, rickety fishing boats. I hoped silently that we wouldn't have to settle for the latter.

Huilen drew our attention to a small raft. "Jasper, will this see us across."

He inspected the vessel quickly. "It's the perfect size, but the engine on it will get us nowhere before we'll need to refuel."

"What if we attached this?" Nahuel said suddenly from behind us, holding a huge motor engine he had apparently ripped from a much larger boat.

Jasper even smiled. "Perfect… As long as it doesn't capsize the poor, old thing."

Jasper attached it quickly and seamlessly. Meaning we were underway almost immediately. He sat beside the engine as it powered us through the water. We stuck to the cliff edges while it was dark as no one would look for us there. Without lights on it would be impossible for humans to travel so close to the edge, but of course, for us it wouldn't be a problem at all.

Our boat plodded along gently. We were just west of Costa Rica, a couple of hours before the sun would rise, when we came across a problem.

"I can see a boat." Said Kachiri, just as Jasper eased on the accelerator.

"Stay here… act as confused and scared as you can, but don't hesitate when you see us. Let's get it over and done as quickly as we can." I said quickly, before sliding in the water seamlessly just as the strong beam of light hit the small boat.

Jasper was already in the water, making his way to the boat a few hundred yards away. We came up on their starboard side without making as much as a ripple.

I could hear the panicked voices of our companions ringing out loudly and hurriedly. I could hardly understand what they were saying. They were screaming that they had money – that they would pay their way. The men on the boat laughed saying that they would be the 'judges of that'. They moved closer and closer, not knowing that two vampires were closely stalking them.

Jasper and I jumped up on to the deck, unseen by anyone. Jasper moved left, and I moved right. He signalled to me that he could see two men in the cabin, while I counted three on the port side trying to communicate with Kachiri.

He looked around, smelling the air carefully, making sure there were no more. He nodded to me, picking up a rope which I assumed was used to tether the boat to a dock.

We raced behind the men without them realising. Jasper picked the two of them in the cabin up by their collars and threw them on to the small boat we had travelled in. A boat that was now empty. Kachiri and Huilen placed their hands strongly over two of the men's mouths while I grabbed the other in a headlock. I could feel him kick and hit but they felt like nothing more than feathers brushing against my skin.

Jasper leapt onto the smaller boat gracefully, and we threw the men at him one by one. He tied them all up before any of them could reach for the guns that they had holstered against their sides. I doubted that they even knew what was happening – all the better for us. Their absolute shock, confusion and disorientation would act as our cover. They're deep, bewildered screams echoed in the air for only a few seconds.

"Nahuel, find me something to gag them." Jasper called gently as if he were right beside him.

Nahuel vanished into the lower part of the boat, bringing up some tape. He threw it to Jasper and suddenly the sound was cut off.

"Easy!" I laughed. "Let's get going."

Jasper and I rushed to the cabin, but we were alone. Kachiri, Nahuel and Huilen still stood on the side of the boat, looking hungrily at the five men in the boat. Their eyes were burning. Ravenous.

"Hold your breath." I said softly, already standing between them and the small boat. They couldn't feed, not just because it was against my values, but because it would cause unknown issues. Five rambling mad men talking about something improbable would blow over quickly, but five dead men and a missing boat would make headlines. "Hold. Your. Breath." I begged now.

Nahuel's eyes fluttered out of his trance and he turned away from his easy meal. Carefully, he pulled Huilen with him.

I reached for a small red tube attached to the side of the boat, ripping the black ribbon from its base. A bright red flare shone all around us, lightening up the sky. It was enough to distract Kachiri and would mean that the five men would not have to wait long before they were rescued.

Jasper started the boat immediately and took us onwards to the next part of our journey before we got caught in anyone else's path.

When the sun rose a few hours later we pulled out to sea. From a distance our glittering skin would be lost in the sunlight bouncing off the waves. We came back to land to stop at a couple of small docks along the way, just making sure we had enough oil to get us to wherever it was that we needed to be. Nahuel dressed in a uniform he found in the resting quarters and looked completely natural refuelling the ship before we left again – nobody even gave us a second glance.

Jasper set our course for Cabo Pulmo, a national park in Mexico. It would provide a good enough cover when we arrive there late tomorrow morning. We would run to the border and find somewhere that we could all cross easily. We would have to wait for night of course. That would leave us seven hours to get from California to Forks. And that would only be the case if _this_ actually worked…

"Alice!" Jasper groaned under his breath. "Stop doubting everything…" He smiled from beside me.

"I'm not… I'm just… planning ahead."

"Care to let me in on it?" He jested softly, stepping closer, bowing his head.

"Nothing has really changed – well, not that I know of anyway." I huffed. "If I'm honest, this is the most confident I have been for the last month! I'm just… ready for it to be over!" I looked through the glass pane separating us from Huilen, Kachiri and Nahuel and leaned towards Jasper. "They've really put themselves at risk by helping us, haven't they?" I whispered directly into his ear.

"They have done nothing wrong, Alice. They'll make themselves known, that is all. And that's what is going to save us."

"What if something is said that puts them in jeopardy?" I rushed.

"It is Nahuel's existence, not his words, that is needed as our evidence." Jasper soothed.

I almost scoffed. "Aro is very… manipulative with his questioning. He will get any answer he wants and will use it to justify any of his desires."

"Then we need to plan exactly what we're going to say. We'll lead the conversation – get everything said before we can be questioned. We'll be labelled innocent before anything can be asked."

I hadn't realised how loud our quiet whispers had turned. The three immortals were crowded in the doorway with indomitable expressions on their faces.

"It's going to be Huilen that speaks, will it not?" Kachiri asked.

Huilen's face screwed up. "Me? Why me? This has got nothing to do with me!"

"Alice has seen it." Kachiri answered. "A week before we even found you."

"You witnessed Nahuel's birth, Huilen. You are a witness to the courtship of a vampire and human as well as witnessing the effects of such." Jasper defended. "You will need to set the scene, tell them exactly what happened, what Pire asked you, what she said about Joham…"

A clear, damp sheen appeared over Nahuel's eyes as soon as their names were mentioned. He turned his head and moved outside before a tear fell from his eye.

I left the room subtly while Jasper spoke to Kachiri and a much calmer Huilen. I stepped beside Nahuel and leant on the side of the boat, as he was.

"Sorry, Alice. I just can't bear to hear that story over and over, listening to which way of telling sounds best… It's the story of how I murdered my own mother."

"You did nothing wrong, Nahuel." I said, rather shocked.

"I love my aunt and I know she loves me too." He lowered his voice. "But I know that she blames me for my mother's death." His eyes watered again. "I'm a monster, Alice."

"Nahuel…" I tried to sooth. "We've all done things we regret. We've all done monstrous things. But it's the actions we take to _prevent _them that makes us who we are, not the mistakes." I felt as though I was repeating the same words I used to chant to Jasper almost fifty years ago.

He smiled dryly and turned his head to me. "Perhaps that is why I was so eager to join this trip: To _save_ a life. _I_ would _save_ a life."

"You will save _many_, Nahuel." I patted him on his shoulder.

I turned my head to face Jasper in the cabin. He was still talking to Huilen, giving her tips on her words. He had promised that he would help her when the time came, to give her courage and strength. She had said that the last thing she wanted was for her words to stutter in front of the daunting army in front of her.

Nahuel obviously didn't want to be a part of this until he had to. His face was still crunched up and he hid it in his hands.

"You're very lucky to have your aunt." I whispered.

"She is the reason I am alive." He nodded.

"Your mother lives in her, you know. As she lives in you. So the way I see it…your mother is not gone. She loved you very much. She died _for_ you, not _because_ of you."

He wiped away a small crystal like tear. "That is how you see it? How you've dealt with it?" He smiled genuinely. "I wish I could have your peacefulness, Alice."

I was about to ask him what he meant, but Kachiri appeared beside him. "Nahuel, Jasper and Huilen want to run through with you what to say as well, though you'll probably be answering their leader's questions rather than anything else."

They all spoke for a long time. I tried helping them by looking forwards to what Aro might ask… but his questions were all directed to Nahuel instead of Huilen so I was of no help.

We arrived in a small, deserted cove at about ten o'clock in the morning. The sky was full of thick December clouds, so we scaled the cliffs and sprinted towards the trees. They would not cover us for long, maybe a hundred miles. But it would suffice for the time being.

We travelled mainly on foot, not wanting to get caught up in any traffic leading to the border. Eight hours it took us to get there. We waited about two miles away in an unused alleyway on the borders of whichever city we were in.

"I assume we are going to have to wait until it gets dark." Kachiri sighed.

I just nodded, trying to concentrate on a place to cross.

"How long is that going to take?" She asked again.

"Not long at all…" I said, though me words were almost silent.

I searched and I searched our possible options. But it was impossible.

"But we won't be able to cross straight away. We'll have to wait until the number of officers drops. That won't be till gone midnight… at least." Jasper spoke for me.

My head was banging! Infuriatingly tense. I was surprised that it didn't actually just explode right then and there! All I could hear was echoes of silence; all I could see was darkness… This was no use.

"Excuse me." I said as I ploughed past Jasper.

I didn't know where I was running. I was just trying to get away. I was running from the blackness that was swarming my mind. I tried to convince myself that I would cross by myself, hoping that the void in my head would disappear and show me the way across.

I saw an occasional flash of a wire fence, or a brick wall. They were flashing quickly; I didn't see any of them for longer than a sixteenth of a second. But the more and more I concentrated, the more closed in they were getting. My mind was eliminating routes that wouldn't work, like it used to do so naturally all those months ago. It was homing in on the choice I would take. It was coming. It was so close…

… A wall guarded by only two men, looking out towards the road, not the desert behind them…

… A fence between two watch posts that if passed at exactly the right time would lead us safely across…

… An abandoned part of the desert, where no human could ever survive alone…

But something was irritating me. Something was distracting my thoughts, making me unable to find the answer. Like someone was nudging me in the ribs, or waving at me from a distance… like someone was knocking on a door that you knew lead to nowhere but an empty room.

I groaned loudly as I gave in and looked at it, leaving the possible routes to cross – letting them drift off into nothing.

I was now looking at a blank piece of paper with a pen hovering over it. I didn't see any relevance in it and so tried to look away, but it was drawing me back… somebody wanted me to see this.

The vision hovered over the pen for a few seconds and then began to drift backwards. I recognised the hand holding it immediately before I even saw the rest of her body.

I was back home.

As annoyingly timed as the vision was it was wonderful to see the beautiful face of my sister again – it was oddly comforting despite being as pained and surrendered as it was.

She carefully wrote the word _Rio de Janeiro._ No explanation. Nothing else. Heaven knows why it was so important. Perhaps she was thinking of her own contingency plans…

For a solid five minutes the same vision reverberated in my head, until suddenly it vanished – probably becoming the present. I wanted to hold on to it, to see what it became, to see if it led to anyone else. Edward, Emmett, Rose, Esme, Carlisle… but it stopped. It became the void that Jasper and I had been a part of for the last few days. They were all too involved with Renesmee, and of course they would be, of course you would spend every single second of every single day with your loved ones if you truly believed that you would all be destroyed in two days.

… But they wouldn't. I would make sure of that.

"Alice?" Someone said, but it sounded as though they were speaking under water. "Alice!" The same voice said again, but clearer. My eyes flashed open to see the face of Jasper standing right in front of me. "Is everything alright?" He asked gently.

"It will be." I sighed. I looked up to him slowly, feeling the hope, love and optimism run through my body. Feeding from the strength that Bella had given me – though most likely unbeknown to her. "We'll be home soon." I declared to him, and to my family despite how far away may be.


	10. Our Hurried Footsteps

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters. **

_**(A/N: Ok, it's been ages! I kind of had a brief stint in hospital and had to wait for aaaaaages for my wrist/fingers/right side of my body to heal before I could type again! Haha just think of a less sever Jacob at the end of Eclipse, minus a ravenous new-born vampire, topless men carrying me on their shoulders and accelerated healing and instead add a jerk on his phone ploughing into the side of my car! But all is well, and I thank my lucky stars Aaaaanyway – sorry it's taken me so long to update. I was really worried that I would forget the ideas I was coming up with so I've taken my time to edit and re-read to make sure this is up to scratch. Hope you enjoy. Missed you! Ellie x)**_

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**Our Hurried Footsteps**

Jasper and I raced back to our South American friends in only a few seconds. I started speaking before they had even turned to face us.

"There are very little options… but there are enough to see us across." I began. "Speed is going to be our ally… and timing." I couldn't help but look anxiously at Nahuel – all my hopes and all my doubts rested on his shoulders.

He looked nervously to the ground and as he did, the guilt began to soak through my core. "We'll be fine." I chanted to myself.

"I don't see why we can't just go further inland? Find one of the many vast sections that are not manned?" Huilen sighed in a nonchalant manner.

My head was screaming, but my face remained calm and poised. "Because we don't have time to run inland."

"Never mind then running back to the coast as soon as we cross." Jasper added.

"We'll be fine." I repeated once again to myself.

'_Is it more of them? Have they come back?' _A slight, southern voice whispered in my mind. I followed the vision now present in my thoughts only to be surprised when I found myself looking back at our small group hidden in the shadows.

My head shot up, to the east, mirroring the line of sight I had just witnessed. It was the two sets of scarlet red eyes that I saw first of all, almost as if they were glowing. They belonged to two perfectly still immortals, one a tall dark haired male and the other a younger looking, smaller female with thick mahogany hair that flowed beyond her waist. They were standing a few streets away from us and far from the local houses and street lights.

"Is it more of them? Have they come back?" The female asked to the other, making the future become present.

My four companions, who – for the last few seconds – had been looking at me with baffled faces, suddenly snapped their heads in the direction of the voice.

"No, you idiot! They don't look anything like them." He replied in a very nonchalant and modern manner similar to our most recent classmates. "Two of them don't even look like _us_." He added, staring at me and Jasper. I didn't understand why they were not intimidated by our presence. Why were they not worried about making themselves known? Self-preservation is one of our strongest instincts and yet here these two stood confidently, outnumbered by five others who, for all they know, could just be looking for a fight. Lucky for them, we wanted nothing more than to get out of here as quick as we could.

"Newborns…" Jasper hissed under his breath, anxiety and aggression rolling off him in waves.

So that was why they were acting so foolishly. Completely naïve, and believing themselves to be invisible… _And apparently not alone after all, _I thought to myself as I watched our immediate futures unravel in my mind.

"And… Is one of them human?" The tall male said, beginning to edge forwards in anticipation.

The deep inhalation from behind us did not take me by surprise, though it made Huilen spin on her heels, pressing Nahuel between herself and Kachiri.

"Not human…" The new voice said. "…But not one of us."

I turned my face to look at our new visitor. He was just as tall as the other, though his hair was long and fair. His rich, freshly filled eyes were intent on Nahuel, so intense that it appeared as though he was completely unaware of the snarling vampire bearing her teeth only millimetres from his face.

"Interesting… What are you doing here? This is our turf." Said the first male, now only a few metres from us. We were cornered, and just like caged animals the four immortals beside me we all riled up.

"We're just trying to get home." I replied calmly, but seriously.

"And where's home?" The second male taunted, now circling us to join his apparently coven members.

"Far from here. The pacific north-west." I continued.

The two males paused their motions and both looked as though they were remembering a conversation. The female, who had remained quiet during this encounter, took in a stuttered breath.

"That's where _they _were heading." She moaned, tugging on the first male's sleeve.

"Who?" Jasper snapped, before her companion could reply.

"Some chauvinistic big-wigs who think that they can tell _us_ what to do." The second male said, shrugging his shoulders.

"The Volturi?" I almost gasped, for I had not seen them, nor did I think that they would, venture across this way.

The girl nodded frantically. "That is what Tony called them. They came silently and unannounced. I'd never seen Tony like that… so panicked and flustered. He went with them without hesitating, but they told us to stay here and warned us to keep our heads down. They said that we were no use to them…"

"Which proves my point!" One of the males bellowed. "They think they know everything, but if they knew what we were really capable of they'd have been begging us to help them slaughter their 'rule breakers'. Who lets _them _make the rules anyway? I'm not falling for it. No hand-holding freak can tell me I'm not worth it and then expect me to follow his rules."

"Perhaps if you had seen the things that I have seen, you might take their warning more seriously." Jasper breathed, stepping forwards intimidatingly.

The dark haired male looked him up and down, and though I could not see his face, I could imagine him focussing on the hundreds of bite marks visible on Jasper. Not only the sign of an experienced fighter, but more importantly, an undefeated one.

"If your creator manages to return then get him to explain who they are and what exactly they can do… and what made him drop everything, including his freshest newborns, to follow their every command so willingly."

"I'm not scared of them."

"You will be." Jasper smirked.

"Now if you don't mind." I said, pushing past the fair-haired male on my left.

"What's the hurry?" He taunted, putting himself in my path once again. "Are you scared?"

Jasper growled and squeezed himself into the tiny gap between the two of us.

"I really do not have time for this. My family is in danger from these 'Volturi'. They want them dead. The 'rule-breakers' you mentioned, the ones that are about to be 'slaughtered' as you so kindly put it, are my family and my friends. The only thing they are guilty of is being too honest, and too loving – not conforming to what they want us to be. So if you don't mind, let me go and help them.

It was silent. Nobody moved for a few moments.

"Well, you should have said." The male in front of me said, mockingly bowing out of the way. "Any enemy of those idiots is a friend of mine."

"We'll help you cross." The young girl said from behind us. "Sorry, I was watching you for a while before you saw us. I know you're having problems crossing – because of the slow one, with the heart-beat, but the unappetising smell." She added frankly. "There are not many people on duty at this time of night. We always cross at this time. No security cameras facing west. I'll distract them and you can jump the fence in your own time…" She looked over to Nahuel. "You can jump, right?"

He nodded in reply, completely speechless.

"You want to go now I presume…" She asked me softly.

"About twelve hours ago actually…" I replied.

"Ok, don't hesitate. As soon as they leave the tower, go." And with that the three child-like immortals fluttered away beginning what seemed to be a well-rehearsed piece.

The female ran into the lit square in front of the watchtower, crying and screaming, slowly chased by the dark haired male. The two guards strapped with guns got up from their chairs and peered over the railings.

The girl screamed some more and graciously fell to the ground, bringing up dust in the spotlight that was upon them. The dark haired male stomped forward slowly and beat the girl around the face. Her scream pierced the air and the two guards came running down the steps holding their gun up to the boy.

"Now Alice!" Jasper called from a few metres beside me. Nahuel had already left, as though he was leading our troop. His leap got him three quarters of the way up the high fence, while ours sent us a fair few metres beyond it. However, by the time we had all landed he was almost by our side once again. He was determined not to hold us back and I smiled graciously, thanking him for a million things.

I had no intention of looking behind me. I had no care for the ingenuous group we had barely met. But the fresh blast of warm blood hit the back of my throat as if it was right in front of me. I stupidly turned around, and watched as the three newborns tried to fight over only two corpses. The humans had obviously got too close to the uncontrollable, undisciplined immortals. Blood had spilled onto the dry sand and was gushing out of the torn men before they had even had the chance to think about firing their weapons.

We were all thirsty. We were all desperate. It was so hard to concentrate on what mattered when you could feed your every desire by just taking a few steps forward to join in the feast. I knew it was going to be a battle to pull us away from this… myself included. But Jasper was already ahead of me – the good part of me, anyway.

"We don't have time. Think about your family and friends. Weigh that up in your priorities." He lectured to Nahuel, Kachiri and Huilen who were all just as transfixed as I was on the gory scene to the south.

We would have to find the time to hunt on our way back – somehow… for our own safety. I could trust Jasper not to get ratty with me, but I could not trust the darker side of these three, soon to be ravenous, human drinking vampires. Our kind is not easily compatible when thirsty. "You will have your chance shortly." I added to Jasper's words. "We'll find the time."

After a very slow, and thoughtful, pause we were moving again. I held onto Jasper's hand as we ran. It was strange the way I was able to stop and think about him in amidst of all the chaos – to truly appreciate him and to be ever so proud of him. Only a few years ago I would have been tearing him away from a scene like that… _only 18 months ago was I tearing him away from a much simpler scene... _but there we were, it was I who had been pulled by temptation and it was now Jasper who was supporting me. The man – the soldier – in him had beaten the monster hands down. He returned my admiring gaze with a wry smile.

"Almost there." He whispered.

"How long do we have?" Kachiri called, following only a few metres behind me.

"It's hard to say accurately." I mumbled. "I can usually tell by the position of the sun, but the clouds are so dense in the vision. Late morning, I think."

"So, a matter of hours." Jasper breathed heavily while pulling open the driver's door to a Chevrolet. The poor engine wouldn't last long travelling at 120mph._ "Damn it! This is the last thing we need!" Jasper's voice echoed in a future that would not become true._

"Not that one my love." I said, pulling him away before he had chance to get in. "There's an unattended valet park a few blocks away." I spoke over my shoulder as I led the way. "Four hours till we get to Sacramento – we can all hunt at Stanislaus National Forest."

"Is it really necessary?" Nahuel asked timidly as we hopped into a sleek, black car that would get us there easily. "I don't want to slow you all down any more than I already have."

It wasn't really Nahuel that I was concerned about… but sitting in a car with two very uncivilised, as natural as can be, already very thirsty vampires had me worried.

"We'll be fine." I smiled, as the engine purred to life. "We need it."

"We need to be at our strongest to protect ourselves, Nahuel." Huilen answered.

I saw Jasper's hands tense as they wrapped around the steering wheel tightly. "It won't come to that." I intervened quickly hoping to ease Jasper's mind.

We got to the I-5 in under an hour and then to Sacramento in just over three. Jasper pulled off and managed to find a secluded part of the forest with only a few directions from me. The air was fresh and crisp, just sitting in the morning mist. It would make hunting for our different forms of prey much easier. Nature was on our side today.

"Find yourselves a few hikers - they'll blame it on the bears. Just rip up the tent and leave the corpses. Maybe rummage through their food and bins and tear up some of the dirt so it looks undeniable." I spoke hurriedly as we abandoned the car and ran our separate ways.

I knew that Jasper would only be thinking of two things while we hunted. 'Increase my strength, and rehearse for what is to come.' He did exactly the same thing before our battle with the newborns last year. He found a large deer within the minute. He did not hunt in a stealthy way, as he usually did. I truly believed he did not even see his prey as a deer, but as his enemy. He circled, growled, swiped, clawed, ripped its head from its shoulders and finally fed. The others in the herd had quickly vanished and were far away by the time he had finished. Instead of looking for another – probably closer – meal, he followed them, as I followed him. He closed in with every step he took, pinning down the doe at the back and threw it quickly to me, knowing that I was on his tail. The sharp velocity of the throw meant that its neck was already broken before I caught it in my ready hands. Jasper had already pounced on another, bent its neck back and bit.

"We're not going to fight, you know." I said calmly when I heard the final slurps coming from our empty corpses.

"Things change." He replied, still looking at his lifeless feed.

"Oh yes, there are many things that are still left undecided. But there will be no fight." I was being cocky now.

"And has Irina been killed yet?" He said sharply, now facing me with a fierce expression.

Not a lot of things take me by surprise.

"No. She hasn't."

"You know why she will be killed, don't you?" He pressed, now rising. "To force a reaction." He continued without letting me answer.

"Carlisle and Emmett won't let Kate and Tanya do anything." I tried to defend.

"We hope." He breathed.

"Yes, we hope." I smiled.

"I'm just being prepared." He huffed. "I'm surprised we found the time."

"We have to give them time." I sighed, not really wanting to. "If we get there too soon, then they'll have time to argue another case to prosecute."

"And if we get there too late, we won't have anything to defend."

"Timing is key." I nodded. "It's a good thing you've got an efficient planner on your team!" I grinned as I wrapped an arm around his broad shoulders and stretched to place a kiss on his lips.

He smiled broadly for the first time in a long time. "Where is Nahuel? It must be time to get going."

They would be clearing up in a few minutes. The vision showed them following my instructions to the letter and then Huilen laughing at Nahuel as she motioned for him to wipe away a smudge of blood left on his cheek.

The fresh taste in my mouth went suddenly bitter as I automatically compared it to the deeply fulfilling meal our friends had just finished.

"If we meet them now, we can help them tidy up." I said as I hopped off in an easterly direction.

"Thank you for that, Alice. We needed that." Kachiri smiled when we caught up with them. "To calm our nerves if nothing else." She added.

"Let's get back to the car quickly." Jasper instructed with a tough tone.

I grimaced as he said the words. Some hikers starting their morning extremely early had come across the car, and would still be there – practically drooling over it - when we returned. I would have usually picked up a couple of the abandoned back-packs and posed as an early riser… however, I couldn't help but giggle at the image of their faces as they saw the obvious, fresh red eyes and inhuman mannerisms of Kachiri and Huilen.

"This way." I moaned. "Need a new car."

They didn't argue.

There was a large but quiet parking lot on the west side of the forest. The local campers were not awake so we had our choice of vehicles. I quickly identified the one that would get us to Forks without stopping. I tried not to turn my nose up at the buttercup coloured Toyota Prias.

The car journey was quiet – not just because of the almost silent engine. It was obvious that Nahuel and Huilen wanted some quiet time to rehearse what they would be saying. Every time I looked in the rear-view mirror I saw Nahuel's lips moving, obviously rehearsing his words, not wanting to slip up. Every now and again, I looked in the mirror in front of me and watched his lips. A few times I read the word 'sisters', but then he just frowned and started again. He obviously wanted to keep them out of it. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Aro has a curious skill of getting information out of you without you wanting to give it away.

The silence was broken after a few hours when I sharply inhaled. My head swarmed and my body tensed. Only a few seconds now separated my visions and the present. The hundreds of images I had seen since the night that we left home finally solidified as they became reality and then vanished as they swiftly changed into the past. The shadows were looming, and had proceeded towards my family. Their red eyes and pale faces looked out from their deep, dark hoods in exactly the same way that I had seen on that first night. Some faces I didn't know – small, timid females tightly sandwiched between two tall and wide bodies. Some faces I did know – the ones at the front, their leaders and the child-like, angelic faced demons. They all stopped in a perfectly constructed semi-circle and waited for their witnesses to appear behind them. An army indeed – nothing compared to the hordes of newborns that had charged towards us last summer. You wouldn't even believe that they were the same bread as the immortals standing across the clearing.

Bella hissed, and others joined her… as did I. For the first time since this began, I was not worried, I was eager.

"It's started." I breathed, my voice hardly making a sound.

"How far are we, Jasper?" Kachiri asked quickly, leaning in between the front to seats.

"20 minutes." He bellowed as he swerved his way around the car in front.

"Time is not an issue." I said confidently. "It's all becoming clearer now. I think I can pretty much say what's going to happen… until we get there that is." It was all very dark after that. "All we can do is watch."

My voice was very indifferent as I retold everything that was happening at the clearing. My eyes were not focussed on the road ahead. I wasn't even in the car. I was hovering above and around my family and our enemy.

I once again felt the alien feeling of nausea as I watched Carlisle step forward and speak first. Oh, how I longed to be there _now_…

I watched as Aro mimicked his actions, although his actions would bring a different reaction, full of tension and readiness._ "Peace." _Is all he would have to say.

"The law is not broken." Carlisle tried to plead.

"Do not treat us as fools!" Aro would bellow.

Caius then brought Irina forward, in order to explain herself when he finally saw the evidence in front of him. Unlike his 'brother', Aro came to a much calmer conclusion after holding our cousins hand. "There was no breach." He declared indifferently, though my voice was much more relieved when I re-told it.

"Doesn't mean it's over, my love." Jasper whispered.

"I thought Alice was the clairvoyant." Huilen scoffed, while Kachiri and Nahuel listened intently, perched forward on their seats.

Jasper was, of course, correct. "Be that as it may, I _will _have every facet of the truth." Aro added.

"In other words, I will find whatever I can to justify this farce." Kachiri grimaced.

"He's calling Edward forward." I gulped, not feeling as though I was in a moving vehicle at all. This was it, what our plan depended on. Although I had studied my family closely over the last month, although I could see the majority of their choices, I was unable to see what they were thinking. I had no idea whether Edward had caught on to my back up plan that I had left for Bella. If he had, then Aro would see it as the actions of a guilty party and I doubted that he would hesitate.

I thought my frozen heart was going to break when I heard Esme's whimper.

"You see?" Edward asked, finally.

"Yes, I see indeed. I doubt whether any two among gods or mortals have ever seen quite so clearly." Aro replied with a creepy, off-putting tone to his voice.

But then, everything changed. As I watched Aro's eyes move away from Edward, the vision began to shake and blur – like I was searching for a decent reception on a TV screen. "No, no, no, no, no…" I screamed, grabbing on to the dash board. But it was too late, he was about to speak the words… _"May I meet her?" _And he was gone, they all were.

"I can't see anything…" I admitted. "He's asked to speak to Renemsee."

"Aro?" Jasper almost roared. His forehead creased and he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "We could have been there by now if we hadn't stopped to hunt."

"It wouldn't have done any good Jasper. Like I said, we _need_ the element of surp-"

"We _need_ to be there to protect our family! Especially the ones that cannot protect themselves…" He sighed heavily.

"Nothing is going to happen to Ness." I soothed, stretching out to rub his hand.

"I just _can't bear _the thought of Nessie being anywhere near that _monster._"

I tried looking past her, but all I could see were tiny flashes of Aro's face looking admiringly and thoughtfully at something or someone I could not see.

It was more than five minutes before I could see anything at all. Still flickers of conversations… something about the wolves and Children of the Moon… I didn't relay this useless information… Until the conversation suddenly changed.

"_I want to talk to the informant."_ Caius was about to announce.

"Irina…" I breathed.

"Who is Irina?" Huilen asked.

My eyes flicked to Jasper sadly. "She is our cousin, of sorts." He answered. Our family has friends in Canada, close friends. Alice has seen her…"

"This was my mistake, and I take full responsibility for it." I said quietly, repeating her words.

"Full responsibility for what?" Huilen questioned.

"_The Cullen's are innocent."_ Irina continued. _"I'm so sorry." _

Jasper's eyes bowed momentarily. We both knew what was coming. I didn't repeat her final words. I flinched as I watched them destroy my cousin. I had seen immortals being shattered and ended before – I had even done my fair share… but this was different. It was so clinical, so easy, so… _wrong._

I felt Jasper hold my hand in his gently as a whimper escaped my lips. "If she is the only sacrifice our family has to make today, we will come away from this thanking our lucky stars." He said realistically.

I swallowed the large lump in my throat and told him what the result of this would be. "Carlisle will stop Tanya." I watched as the furious Kate fought of Rosalie and Emmett before Garret got an impressive grip on her, keeping her still. "Kate's stopped now too…" My vision zoomed in on Bella, focussing closely on the electric pair. "… I think Bella helped somehow…"

As we were closing in on Forks, Aro was closing in on our witnesses. Amun, Siobhan and finally Garrett… The strong-minded revolutionary spoke for a long time. He spoke brilliantly and passionately… I imagine it would be hard to deny him anything. I retold his words to Jasper and our new friends, and even though they were not as fervent as Garrett's, I could still feel our confidence and determination grow.

"_These ancient ones did not come here for justice as they told you… Witness them struggle to find a justification for their true purpose… The Volturi come to erase what they see as competition… They see power… I say family, not coven… some of us wondered whether having truth on their side would be enough… Who rules you nomads? Will the Volturi decide how you will live? I came to witness… I stay to fight…. I promise you this though – if we fall, so do you."_

"This is it…" My head swirled and span around a group of three immortals in dark cloaks converging amidst their impatient followers. "They are making their decisions."

"What decisions?" Kachiri asked with a slight fault in her voice.

"Whether our family lives or dies." I answered bluntly.

"Our _families_." She added quietly, but obviously.

The car screeched to a stop on the moist dirt at the secluded entrance to the National Park. We were out and running in no time. It felt like it had been years since I had smelled this smell, since I had seen this exact and unique green around me. We were only a few miles from our home and that thought warmed every inch of my insides. We had done it. We had made it against all the odds. I could almost feel the embraces of my parents, siblings and precious niece as I skipped along. It felt ridiculous really, to feel so happy when my family would be feeling so scared, so lost… abandoned. _Not for long, _I promised them. _Not for long._

I heard Kachiri sigh beside me as she ripped off the clothes I had given her in South America and on discarded them on the quickly passing ground, reminding me of Bella's first hunt. "I'm not used to running in such restricting clothing." She grimaced, revealing the animal skin she had kept on underneath.

The path we were following was the path I had seen everyone take only a few hours before. I skipped over the scents of my family. The buttery-clover scent of Carlisle, Esme's calming lavender aroma, Emmett's mulled citrus tang, Rosalie's white-lily-moonlight perfume, Edward's deep honey embrace intertwined with Bella's freesia and Renesmee's chocolate infusion.

Of course, these were not the only scents along the path we were running. I recognised some of them, still hanging in the air around me, but there were many that I did not. This did not surprise me though – Carlisle had a huge network of nomadic comrades all apparently willing to help him.

The next aroma hit me like a thick stone wall… dogs. Wet, smelly dogs. Huilen and Kachiri's faces squirmed and twisted with distaste beside me. Of course those foolish puppies would stand beside us, risking their lives for Nessie, just as we were. It was then that I realised that we could not safely continue on this path, so I turned back on myself immediately.

"Alice." Jasper called, already stationary. "Their tracks continue this way – it's the quickest way to the clearing."

"I can't see a way in that way Jasper." I cried over my shoulder. "The wolves make everything blurry." Not only this, but I just couldn't trust them. I couldn't help but imagine running all this way, for such a long time only for our companions to be condemned by an unyielding wolf pack believing them to be a surprise attack from behind… After all, we weren't exactly expected guests.

"Wolves?" Nahuel asked softly from my side.

I almost laughed aloud. "Nothing you need to be concerned about… just some unusual friends." I was surprised that I had used that word to describe them.

"Kachiri! Jasper!" Huilen's voice called suddenly and sharply from far behind us.

I wondered if she had seen something. I knew we were not within seeing distance of the clearing. I was not even in Edward's mental range yet. She couldn't have seen anything. And then I panicked… Had I not done a good enough job? Did the Volturi have someone circling the immediate area, just waiting for us? Had someone found us?

We were all back by her side in no time at all, staring into two sets of red eyes belonging to crouching red-eyed immortals.

We were silent though, the seven of us. But we didn't have time to wait. They didn't seem to be a threat. No dark cloaks like those I had seen in Italy and in those terrifying visions I have witnessed over the last few weeks. No aggression or cunning. They were surprised – just as much as we were. My eyes were drawn to the female on the right. Her face was transfixed on Nahuel, turning and softening slightly the more she studied him. Then suddenly her sight switched to Jasper and I as she stared deeply into our now bright gold eyes.

"You need to hurry." She whispered directly to Jasper. "They don't have long left."

"Makenna!" The male beside her reprimanded.

"You've come from the clearing?" Jasper pressed, stepping forwards. "What is happening? Is our family safe?"

"They are clearly innocent… but by no means safe." She looked back at Nahuel. "Which is why you must hurry."

"As do we." Her mate warned again. "You didn't see us." He hissed at us before dragging his Makenna with him.

We did not hesitate in the slightest. We sped north as quickly as our legs could carry us. Nahuel's heart was pounding, echoing in my ears, only a few steps behind us.

"Where will we appear, Alice?" Kachiri asked.

I thought back to visions I had seen over the past month. "Our family is on the west of the clearing, the Volturi are on the east… we'll come out at the south, but only a few steps from Bella."

"Will we be safe?" Jasper asked carefully.

"The worst has already happened, Jasper." I replied quickly. The decisions being made by the Volturi leaders were getting clearer and clearer every second. I could see exactly what they were going to say... Caius had made up his mind eighteen months ago so it came as no surprise._ "It must be destroyed." _He would say, referring to my beautiful, intelligent, innocent niece. _"Along with all those who protect it."_ Marcus, the epitome of indifference, would vote against a punishment. _"Let us leave in peace."_ And Aro… well Aro would not be able to make his final decision for a few more minutes.

I had more important things to do than watch something that would not become reality, and I believed – and hoped – that I was now close enough to do it.

_Edward! _I screamed in my head, imagining it travelling through the space in front of me. I was about to repeat it over and over, just hoping my now foreign internal voice would catch his attention, but I saw his reaction in his immediate future. His eyes bulged and his lips fell apart.

I felt a grin stretch across my face as I filled my thoughts with saddened words begging for forgiveness. _I'm so sorry we left, left you with no hope, but it wasn't meant for you Edward… _An image of Aro flooded my thoughts. He would know why, but I couldn't help but explain. _You had to believe that there was no way out… He had to believe that they had the upper hand – but we had it all along Edward… we had strength and truth and honour… of course this was always clear – to all who knew our story… but we had something else on our side, just waiting in the wings. _

I let the key events of the last month swarm every area of my mind, sharing them with my wonderful brother. The turmoil I faced only a few miles from our home, the secret and amazingly intricate back-up plan we left for Bella, the journey to Utah and then to South America, the first time we discussed the idea of a hybrid with Kachiri and finally, _finding him!_

"Yes!" I heard Edward call, in only a few seconds time.

I continued as we searched for weeks, with nothing to show for it. I showed him how I watched them all, and how I missed my talented niece, I showed him the first moment I saw Nahuel and the first time I heard his story. I repeated this a few times, hoping Edward had missed nothing.

_We're still a minute away, so you'll have to stall for a moment. But we're coming my brother – we could never leave you, we never would. It's over. We've done it._


End file.
